pay-per-view

American  

[pey-pur-vyoo, -per-] / ˈpeɪˌpɜrˈvyu, -pər- /

noun

1. a system requiring that a subscriber pay for each program viewed.

   championship games seen only on pay-per-view.

---

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to such a system. ppv

pay-per-view British  

noun

1. See free-to-air pay television

   1. a system of television broadcasting by which subscribers pay for each programme they wish to receive

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pay-per-view channel

---

Etymology

Origin of pay-per-view

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Mayweather beat fellow welterweight Pacquiao in their money-spinning 2015 "Fight of the Century," which generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys but largely failed to live up to the hype.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

The goal is to make the UFC bigger than ever by dropping the high-barrier-to-entry pay-per-view business model.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

"There's little question that he was WWE's most important economic wrestler throughout that time - in terms of pay-per-view buys, which were still central in that era, TV ratings, and as a house show draw."

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025

Kerr’s early contests often ended in less than two minutes, an oops-I-missed-it-grabbing-a-beer brevity that would have made pay-per-view buyers grumble.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

It offered access to sports’ biggest events, including Europe’s football championships, the NFL, NBA, MLB, pay-per-view boxing and F1 races.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025