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Synonyms

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.


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:

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 goal is to make the UFC bigger than ever by dropping the high-barrier-to-entry pay-per-view business model.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 23, 2026

"There's little question that he was WWE's most important economic wrestler throughout that time - in terms of pay-per-view buys, which were still central in that era, TV ratings, and as a house show draw."

From BBC Dec. 12, 2025

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

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

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

Mayweather's defeat of the Filipino generated over $400 million from 4.6 million pay-per-views.

From Reuters Aug. 21, 2017

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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