--- title: "What Is Pay-Per-View (PPV)? Definition and Examples" description: "Pay-per-view (PPV) is a one-time payment to watch a single event or title. See how PPV works on a streaming service and what it takes to run one." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/pay-per-view" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/pay-per-view.md" category: "Monetization" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is pay-per-view (PPV)? Pay-per-view (PPV) is a model where a viewer pays once to watch a single program, most often a live event such as a fight, a match or a concert, rather than subscribing to a channel or catalog. ## How pay-per-view works The viewer buys a ticket before or during the event. The purchase unlocks that stream on their account for the duration of the event, and often a replay for a set period afterward. The term comes from cable and satellite television, where an event was ordered through the set-top box. On a streaming service the same sale happens on the web or in an app, and access is tied to the account rather than the box. ## Pay-per-view vs TVOD Pay-per-view is one kind of TVOD. TVOD covers every one-time sale, including rentals and purchases of on-demand titles. Pay-per-view normally means a ticket to something scheduled, where everyone watches at the same time. ## What a PPV event needs - Capacity for a sharp peak: most buyers arrive in the minutes before the start - Checkout that stays up under that peak, on every device you sell on - Stream protection, since a live event is the content most often restreamed illegally - Limits on simultaneous streams so one ticket is not shared widely - A replay window for buyers in other time zones ## Pay-per-view on RentAnOTT One-time sales are included on every RentAnOTT plan with no cut taken. Live channels and events are included on Growth and Scale and are a $119/month add-on on Launch. [See pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing). ## Related terms - [Live pay-per-view](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/live-ppv) — Live pay-per-view is selling access to a single live stream for a one-time ticket price. The buyer can watch that event as it happens and usually a replay for a limited time afterward. - [TVOD](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/tvod) — TVOD (transactional video on demand) is a streaming model where viewers pay once for a single title or event, either renting it for a limited time or buying it to keep. - [Live event](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/live-event) — A live event is a single scheduled stream with a defined start and end, such as a match, a concert, a conference or a premiere. Unlike a linear channel it does not run continuously, and unlike on-demand video everyone watches it at the same time. - [PVOD](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/pvod) — PVOD (premium video on demand) is a one-time rental or purchase of a new release at a premium price, offered early, while or shortly after the title is in cinemas and before it reaches subscription or ad-supported catalogs. - [Concurrent viewers](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/concurrent-viewers) — Concurrent viewers is the number of people watching a service's video at the same moment. The highest value reached, peak concurrency, determines how much streaming capacity the service needs. - [Concurrent stream limit](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/concurrent-stream-limit) — A concurrent stream limit is the maximum number of devices that can play video on one account at the same moment. When the limit is reached, a further device is refused or an existing stream is stopped. - [Geo-blocking](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/geo-blocking) — Geo-blocking is restricting access to video according to the viewer's location, so that a title can only be played in the countries or regions where the service holds the rights to show it. ## Further reading - [Pay-per-view for IPTV and OTT](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/iptv-pay-per-view) - [Choosing a live streaming player](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/live-streaming-player) - [OTT revenue calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/ott-revenue-calculator) ## Frequently asked questions ### What does PPV stand for? PPV stands for pay-per-view. ### Can subscribers be charged for a pay-per-view event? Yes. An event is usually sold separately to everyone. Some services give subscribers a discount or include smaller events in the plan and keep the largest ones as paid tickets. ### Is pay-per-view only for sport? No. Combat sports made it familiar, but concerts, theatre, conferences, religious events and film premieres are all sold the same way. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt