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

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

From Los Angeles Times

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

"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

He had criticised Disney for responding too slowly as pay television subscribers started to flee in 2015 and said big gambles, such as Mr Iger's decision to buy a hefty chunk of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in 2019, had not paid off.

From BBC