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Pay-per-view (often abbreviated PPV) is the system in which television viewers can purchase events to be seen on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes. The event is shown at the same time to everyone ordering it, as opposed to video on demand systems, which allow viewers to see the event at any time. Events can be purchased using an on-screen guide, an automated telephone system, or through a live customer service representative. Events include feature films, sporting events, and pornographic movies. The pay-per-view industry is generally regarded as a separate industry from television, even though they are fundamentally connected. For example, in the DVD The History of TNA Year 1, produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Bob Ryder explained his idea for "starting a wrestling promotion that doesn't need television; let's just go straight to pay-per-view." Pay-per-view began becoming popular when the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers began using the system after winning the championship in the 1977 season.[citation needed] During that time, it was operated on a few pay-TV services such as Z Channel, SelecTV, and ON-TV in select markets throughout the 1980s. The first major pay-per-view event occurred on September 16, 1981, when Sugar Ray Leonard fought Thomas "Hitman" Hearns for the Welterweight Championship. Viacom Cablevision in Nashville, Tennessee, was the first system to offer the event and sold over fifty percent of its subscribers for the fight.[citation needed] Leonard visited Nashville to promote the fight, the event was such a success that Viacom's Annual Report that year was themed around the fight. Viacom's Marketing Director was Pat Thompson who put together the fight and subsequently put together additional PPV fights, wrestling matches, and even a Broadway play.
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