Synonyms

pay television

American

noun

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

pay television British

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of pay television

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

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

Walt Disney Chairman Bob Iger also cited the need to reach consumers who have never signed up for a pay television subscription.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2024

Well, you subscribe to a pay television package, or in the case of Amazon, Amazon Prime.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

March Madness Live is available throughout the tournament for those who have a pay television subscription.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023