Found this on twitter, thought you guys would appreciate it.
My aunt and uncle were still renting their TVs up until the mid-2000s. When they called to finally cancel their contract, the company offered them their TV to own for £50, and they said no. The company then offered £30 instead, and they said no again. Finally the person on the phone said "Why don't you just keep it and donate it to charity?" It was sat in my bedroom a few hours later.
The parents of one of my friends rented a Panasonic video like the one in the picture, after a few years it was replaced by a more modern front loading one with IR remote control.
Like most people in the mid 1980s they owned their TV, an ITT which was my first experience of the brand.