: 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

called also pay television

compare pay-cable, subscription tv

Examples of pay-TV in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The broadcaster is offered as part of the basic packages for pay-TV distributors including DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV, among others. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025 The parent company of Dish Network has been transitioning to wireless over the past few years as the pay-TV business continues to erode. Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025 But for cord-cutters who’ve been holding on to cable or a digital live-TV bundle such as YouTube TV, and don’t mind watching a few hours later, the arrival of these two ratings heavyweights offers one more incentive to drop the pay-TV bundle. Josef Adalian, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025 Even when the virtual MVPDs are tossed into the mix, pay-TV penetration is down to just 52% of all U.S. TV homes, down from a peak of 91%. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pay-TV

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pay-TV was in 1954

Cite this Entry

“Pay-TV.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pay-TV. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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