pay-per-view

American  

[pey-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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pay-per-views
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pay-per-view

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pay-per-view pay-per-views

I even ponied up for a pay-per-view a few years back to see Mayweather spend eight rounds gently caressing Jake’s overmatched older brother, Logan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 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

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

It will be a professional contest between one of Britain's most decorated heavyweights and a former Disney Channel actor who has reinvented himself as a pay-per-view attraction.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025

As a businessman, his primary goal was selling pay-per-views, which he accomplished by developing a reputation for arranging interesting, well-matched fights.

From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026

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