Some PlayStation Users Losing Access to TV Shows They Purchased

Highlights

• Sony has announced that users will lose access to Discovery TV shows they previously purchased through the PlayStation digital store.
• Sony stopped allowing movie and TV show purchases through the PS Store in 2021 and now focuses on subscription-based streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV.
• The removal of these shows from the PS Store and users’ libraries is due to undisclosed “content licensing arrangements” and has raised concerns about the future of digital ownership and the necessity of physical media.

Sony has announced that users will be losing access to several Discovery TV shows that they have previously purchased through the PlayStation digital store. When PlayStation 4 was first released, Sony offered its playerbase the ability to watch a multitude of movies and TV shows, purchasable through the PS Store. This was carried over when the PlayStation 5 console was launched. However, in 2021, Sony stopped movie and TV purchases through the PS Store, with it offering support for subscription-based streaming services instead, like Netflix, Apple TV, and Crunchyroll among others.

While Sony ended support for PlayStation users to purchase movies and TV shows from its store, if someone had previously purchased a movie or show through the digital marketplace, they would still be able to access this content through their PS4, PS5, or mobile device. That said, there have been times when content was removed from both the PS Store and a user’s purchase history in the past, with this latest removing a whole slew of Discovery TV shows.

In an announcement made on the PlayStation website, Sony confirms that hundreds of Discovery TV shows will be completely removed from both the PS Store and their users’ libraries. According to the post, users will lose access to these shows at the end of the year, December 31, 2023. The page gives the full list of TV shows that will be removed from the service, which includes popular Discovery reality TV shows like Mythbusters, How It’s Made, Say Yes to the Dress, and many more.

The announcement doesn’t go into the specifics regarding the removal of these shows, with the reason provided being “content licensing arrangements with providers.” While this could be due to Sony’s previous agreement with Discovery likely reaching its expiration, some have speculated that the distribution deal of these shows was affected by the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger from last year. A new deal could be made later down the line, though this is just speculation at this time.

While these shows will be leaving PlayStation Store, they are still available to watch through the Max streaming service. This move, however, has raised plenty of concerns from users regarding an all-digital future, when services are unable to provide them with something that they previously purchased. Combined with the news about how certain retailers are announcing plans to stop distributing physical media earlier this year, it has renewed a bigger debate about digital ownership rights and the necessity of physical media.