United Kingdom · Germany · Wired
Sony Erases Digital Content From Libraries, a Reminder That You Don’t Own What You Buy
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Sony recently informed its PlayStation customers in the United Kingdom that they will no longer be able to watch previously purchased movies and shows from production and distribution company StudioCanal.
Key facts
- This happened in 2023, when Sony said it would have to pull 1,318 seasons of Discovery shows from customers’ libraries
- Sony already pulled 314 StudioCanal titles from libraries in Germany and Austria in 2022
- Sony has also been scaling down its digital store and stopped selling movie and show rentals and purchases in August 2021
- It’s possible that Sony may still make a deal with StudioCanal by September 1, or even after, that would allow users to keep watching the content they bought
Summary
In a legal notice first spotted by gaming news outlet PlayStation LifeStyle, Sony said that affected customers will lose the ability to stream titles including Outrage: Way of the Yakuza, Paddington, Paddington 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, Rambo 3, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas “due to our content licensing agreements.” As of September, Sony will remove any affected titles that UK users bought from their PlayStation library, per the notice. It’s possible that Sony may still make a deal with StudioCanal by September 1, or even after, that would allow users to keep watching the content they bought. Still, affected customers shouldn’t keep their hopes too high. Sony already pulled 314 StudioCanal titles from libraries in Germany and Austria in 2022.