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

That could help Versant in future distribution deals with pay TV providers. — Alex Sherman,jessica Golden, CNBC, 17 June 2026

Universo is included in select pay TV packages. — Kaya Kaynak, New York Times, 8 June 2026

The company launched its stand-alone direct-to-consumer subscription service Fox One, offering Fox News and other channels outside a pay TV package. — Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026

That’s the pay TV company that launched in 2008 with the backing of MGM, Viacom and Lionsgate and released some original shows like Graves and Berlin Station. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 29 June 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