Final answer:
The paying customers who receive cable service in their homes or businesses are known as external customers. They are the ones who purchase these services and are served outside of the company providing the cable service.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group of paying customers that receives one form or another of cable service in their homes or businesses would be D) External customers. External customers are individuals or entities that purchase products or services from a business and utilize them externally outside of the company providing the service.
When cable companies transmit cable programming to homes or businesses, they are catering to their external customers. These customers are the ones who not only directly interact with the service by receiving it but also sustain the cable company by providing it with revenue through their payments.