That subsidy is then (hopefully, at least the airtime provider hopes it will be) recouped over the 18 month, two year, life of the contract in some potion of the monthly fees being paid.
It is here that you will find the depiction of the churning of the Ocean of Milk: Various deities taking part in what at first appears to be tug-of-war, but is in fact a search for a potion that will confer eternal life, a process that involves churning the sea with the help of an enormous snake.