Pay television, or pay-TV, usually refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analogue and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly by digital terrestrial methods. It is often the target of pirate decryption.

Pay per view (PPV) services are similar to subscription-based pay TV services in that you must pay to have the broadcast decrypted for viewing, but usually only entail a one-off payment for a single or time-limited viewing.

"Free" variants are free-to-air (FTA) and free-to-view (FTV), however FTV services are normally encrypted and decryption cards either come as part of an initial subscription to a pay TV bouquet or can be purchased for a one-off cost.