pay television

American  

noun

1. a commercial service that broadcasts or provides television programs to viewers who pay a monthly charge or a per-program fee.

2. the programming provided.

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pay television British  

noun

1. Also called: subscription television.  a system by which television programmes are transmitted in scrambled form, unintelligible except to those who have paid for descrambling equipment Compare free-to-air pay-per-view

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Etymology

Origin of pay television

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

YouTube’s growing influence also extends into traditional pay television.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025

For years, channels would temporarily disappear from cable services amid disputes over carriage fees, or what carriers pay television companies for the rights to show their programming.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 15, 2025

"We have Australian content requirements on free-to-air television and pay television, but until now, there has been no guarantee that we could see our own stories on streaming services," Burke said.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

A newspaperman at heart, Murdoch sensed by the 1980s that the media was changing and that pay television would be a central plank of the future.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

The formulas that studios use to pay television and movie creators, setting the stage for another strike.

From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2023