I don't know how exactly consumer behaviour works in America when it comes to televisions but in India, most people hold on to their TVs for at least a decade.
So yeah this would not fly in a place like India. But in America, if the average consumer changes their television far quicker than here, it is likely very few will remain holding onto TVs older than 10 years. So the complaints of people will fall onto deaf ears.
This is one possible outcome only. But I feel this is quite likely.
Nah, I think that's pretty normal here in America too. I've never met someone who's bought a replacement TV for a reason other than that their old one broke, besides ~10 years ago when everyone upgraded from CRTs to flat-screen HDTVs.
And you don't even need a public outcry about it. Just enough people to make a class-action worth it.
The benefit this gives to having a dumb TV is that it makes it more attractive to thieves.