pay TV
noun
: 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 tvExamples of pay TV in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The social impact is good news for Sky, which does not put all sketches from the show online – as a pay TV operator, a key consideration is getting people to sign up to its service, so some of the SNL content remains for Sky and Now TV subs only.
—
Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 2 May 2026
In the second management shakeup in just over a year at Movistar Plus+ the biggest Spanish pay TV and SVOD operator, Daniel Domenjó is set to exit as CEO.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
RSNs have felt arguably the greatest pressure from the losses that plague the pay TV bundle as consumers switch to streaming.
—Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
And, increasingly, the monthly prices for those services are making the glory days of the pay TV bundle seem that much more appealing.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026
Some pay TV providers, like Fubo and a few others, include ESPN Unlimited with their subscription.
—Takashi Williams, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
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Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 2 May 2026
In the second management shakeup in just over a year at Movistar Plus+ the biggest Spanish pay TV and SVOD operator, Daniel Domenjó is set to exit as CEO.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
RSNs have felt arguably the greatest pressure from the losses that plague the pay TV bundle as consumers switch to streaming.
—Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
And, increasingly, the monthly prices for those services are making the glory days of the pay TV bundle seem that much more appealing.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026
Some pay TV providers, like Fubo and a few others, include ESPN Unlimited with their subscription.
—Takashi Williams, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pay TV.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pay%20TV. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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