Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of over-the-air programming was the most common form of media distribution. As Internet and IPTV technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD on televisions and personal computers.
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
FilmFlex, is an on-demand movie rental services provider, claiming to be largest outside the US.
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the source media continuously. As a result, a client media player can begin playing the content almost immediately. This is known as streaming media.
In Demand is an American cable television service which provides video on demand services, including pay-per-view. Comcast, Cox Communications, and Charter Communications jointly own In Demand.
Canal Indigo is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view and Near Video on Demand provider owned by Vidéotron. The service was launched on August 26, 1996.
Request TV, also known as Request Television, is a defunct pay-per-view service owned by Liberty Media and Twentieth Century Fox that was launched in November 1985. Request TV was originally owned by Reiss Media Enterprises; Group W Satellite Communications later purchased a 50% stake in the service in May 1989. Twentieth Century Fox and Liberty Media acquired a combined majority interest in Reiss Media Enterprises in June 1992, and bought out Group W's stake in Request TV.
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.
Vu!, also operating as Bell TV On Demand, is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view and Video on Demand provider that launched in October 1999 and is owned by Bell Media. Vu! is the largest PPV service provider in Canada and is available on Telus Satellite TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV, and Bell Aliant FibreOP. It not only offers pay-per-view content but also features pay-per-day, pay-per-month and pay-per-year on select programming.
The Erotic Network (TEN) is a premium adult pay-per-view service in the United States owned by New Frontier Media. TEN operates six full-time PPV channels that are available via cable or satellite as well as a video on demand channel.
Breakaway PPV was a Canadian English language regional pay-per-view television provider in Western Canada and the territories. Breakaway is jointly owned by the parent companies of the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers at 33.33% each. Licensed in 2000, its sole offerings were regional pay-per-view broadcasts of National Hockey League games involving the aforementioned teams which are not available through other broadcast or cable channels. The Breakaway name was not used on-air; the services were branded as Canucks TV, Flames PPV, and Oilers PPV respectively.
Viewers Choice was a Canadian English language pay-per-view (PPV) and near video on demand service. It was owned by Viewers Choice Canada Inc., which at the time of its closure was majority-owned and managed by Bell Media, with minority partners Rogers Media and ESPN Inc., and had been carried by various cable and IPTV service providers, primarily in Eastern Canada.
Sneak Prevue was an American pay television network that served as a barker channel to provide previews of pay-per-view films and events to cable television providers. The channel launched in 1991 and existed until 2002.
Shaw PPV is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view service owned by Shaw Pay-Per-View Limited, a division of Shaw Communications. Shaw PPV is carried by Shaw Direct, Shaw Cable, and some other providers, mainly in Western Canada.
Hot Choice is a pay-per-view service that mainly airs adult content. It is run by In Demand Networks and is carried on some cable television systems.
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with a FTTN or FTTH Bell Internet service, and uses the Mediaroom platform. Bell Fibe TV officially launched on September 13, 2010. It is also available in Manitoba and Atlantic Canada, where Fibe TV is re-packaged, being offered by Bell MTS and Bell Aliant with similar services and integrated with Bell Fibe TV.
Sportsnet PPV is a Canadian pay-per-view (PPV) service owned by Rogers Communications. It is the PPV service used by Rogers Cable, Cogeco Cable and Source Cable for offering out-of-market sports packages and occasionally other special events. Since October 1, 2014, Rogers and Source have also used Sportsnet PPV as their main general-interest pay-per-view provider, replacing Viewers Choice which shut down the previous evening. The service is co-branded with Rogers' sports channel Sportsnet.
WWE Network is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel programmed by WWE and distributed by Rogers Sports & Media. Its programming consists entirely of the linear feed offered as part of the WWE Network video streaming service.
DirecTV Cinema is DirecTV's video on demand and pay-per-view platform for film content. Films are released as is done on other pay-TV services, along with exclusive film premieres priced at premium rates before entering theatrical distribution.
