Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refer to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite television, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television. Subscription television began in the multi-channel transition and transitioned into the post-network era.[1] Some parts of the world, notably in France and the United States, have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_television
