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Synonyms

pay-per-view

American  
[pay-pur-vyoo, -per-] / ˈpeɪˌpɜrˈvju, -pər- /

noun

  • pay-per-views
    plural
  1. a system requiring that a subscriber pay for each program viewed.

    championship games seen only on pay-per-view.


adjective

  1. noting or pertaining to such a system. ppv

pay-per-view British  

noun

  1. See free-to-air pay television

    1. a system of television broadcasting by which subscribers pay for each programme they wish to receive

    2. ( as modifier )

      a pay-per-view channel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of pay-per-view

First recorded in 1975–80


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It brought in operating income of $652 million, a 5% slide that the company attributed to higher sports rights costs and the absence of UFC pay-per-view revenue compared with last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Mayweather brought this tradition to the big stage when he fought McGregor on pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena and people have been following his example ever since.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

Mayweather beat fellow welterweight Pacquiao in their money-spinning 2015 "Fight of the Century," which generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys but largely failed to live up to the hype.

From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026

A reality show called “The Ultimate Fighter,” a subsequent rights deal on Fox and pay-per-view helped lift the UFC into a new stratosphere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The bread and butter of independent distribution till now had been ancillary rights: DVDs, pay television, then pay-per-view.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

Mike told me about having been a fan for decades—signing up for the cheaper pay-per-views, grabbing tapes to catch individual fights, following Dana White’s ascent from well-connected, Vegas-schooled businessman to international sporting titan.

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2024

Alvarez continues to be the biggest star in boxing, fronting 10 pay-per-views since serving a six-month suspension in 2018, earning millions of pounds in the process.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2022

"I think it would be one of the biggest pay-per-views ever, and I know I can win," he said.

From Reuters ● Dec. 14, 2021

He writes and structures AEW programming — which includes four weekly shows and four pay-per-views each year — and those boyhood dreams of booking for a company have come true.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2021

Two women fight one of the most successful UFC pay-per-views and your choices to fill the gap are, except for Rousey and Holm, men?

From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2015

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