A multichannel television service, also known as simply a television provider, is a type of
service provider who distributes
television programming to its customers for a
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, a ...
fee. Subscription television providers distribute
television channels that offer different types of programming, typically including
local television stations within their
market (including, where applicable,
state broadcasters),
specialty channel
A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted ...
s that are distributed solely through multichannel television providers, and
pay television
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, b ...
services that offer premium content such as feature films and other original programming.
Subscription television services can be distributed to customers through various means, including
wireline media such as
cable and
fiber-optic wire,
direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
, and using
internet protocols—either over a private network maintained by the provider, or as an "
over-the-top" service
streamed over the public internet. Equipment is provided to customers in order to receive the service, usually featuring one or more