Imagine the following scenario: you browse the digital video store of a company, find a great movie or TV show, hit the buy button, only to find out later that the company that sold you the digital item has removed it from your library again. Money gone, movie gone, and seemingly no option to do anything about it.
This scenario is not one of those extreme unlikely events that never happens. Sony started to remove StudioCanal movies from its PlayStation Store some time ago. The company stopped the integrated movie store back in 2021 and has been at work since to remove content from user libraries.
This September, it is hitting British PlayStation users who bought Studio Canal titles. Sony lists hundreds of movies on a support page.
The reason? Sony says that “content licensing agreements” are to blame. The effect is simple: Starting September 1, 2026, customers will no longer be able to access “previously purchased content from Studio Canal” as it will be removed from the video library of the PlayStation system.
Sony is not the only major company that pulled content that customers purchased digitally before. Google, for instance, closed its Stadia cloud gaming service back in 2023 and cut access to purchased games. Google did refund software and hardware purchases though.
Microsoft shut down its ebooks store in 2019 and that also meant that customers could no longer access ebooks they bought in the store. Microsoft did issue full refunds as well.
The main takeaway is this: while companies use “buy” buttons when it comes to digital media, customers purchase licenses only. The license gives them the right to play, read or stream the content, but only as long as the license is not revoked. Revoking is rare, but it can happen at any time.
Buying stuff digitally is moronic. The only service I would buy digitally from if I were in their system is Apple. They are too big and entrenched to lose their license to anything.
Sony: “All of this is clearly spelled out in the 142 page TOS you agreed to without reading that specifically gave away any and all rights you think you might have ever had or will ever have.”
Once again providing yet another reason why piracy is the superior choice.
I would strongly advocate for the physical format here which gives you a greater sense of ownership. If one wanted a digital copy as it were you could rip it yourself and have it for as long as you want. In that sense everybody wins so there should be no complaint from the studios as far as I am concerned.
Don’t allow these garbage services to fool you. Its a story as old as time. They cannot be trusted and do not care about the end user.
Never pay for these services if you believe in any form of ownership and wish to remain in control.
If it is not in your possession you do not own it. If I buy digital I must be able to download it. Anything else is just a rental, regardless of what the merchant may say.