pay TV

noun

ˈpā-ˈtē-ˈvē 

: a service providing noncommercial television programming (such as recent movies and entertainment specials) by means of a scrambled signal to subscribers who are provided with a decoder

—often hyphenated when used attributively

a pay-TV operator

called also pay television

compare pay cable, subscription tv

Examples of pay TV in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Versant is looking to move beyond traditional pay TV channels to invest more in streaming TV platforms and new digital business lines. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026

Currently more than 80% of Versant's revenue stems from the pay TV business. — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026

While other categories of residuals (including broadcast, cable, foreign TV, home video, pay TV, and more) have been on the decline for many years, streaming had been on the rise over the last decade or so. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026

All Hayu content will be available on demand at no extra charge to Sky Ultimate TV customers, as well as all Sky Q and Sky+ pay TV customers. — John Archer, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pay TV

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he