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The cruel reality of owning digital content came to a head this month, as Sony planned to pull select TV shows from users’ PlayStation libraries due to expiring licensing agreements. That meant users would have shows pulled from their accounts that they paid for, with no recourse or refunds given. Naturally, Sony drew a lot of backlash for this. Under pressure, Sony announced Thursday that it had reached a new license agreement with Discovery. This will allow users to keep Discovery content in their PlayStation libraries uninterrupted.
“Due to updated licensing arrangements, the Discovery content removal planned for December 31, 2023, is no longer occurring,” the updated legal notice reads. “We appreciate your ongoing support and feedback.”
The move is good news for PlayStation users, who get to keep access to roughly 1,200 Discovery shows that were set to be removed. Some of the highlights included Myth Busters and Cake Boss, but the list of content was far-reaching. While shows are added and removed from streaming services all the time, Sony and Discovery were about to do something different. Taking on-demand content that was purchased would have set a horrible precedent for Sony, which is likely why the company backtracked.
But the series of events was still a bad look for Sony. It highlighted all the problems that can come with digital media. It’ll be hard to trust Sony’s PlayStation Store — or any digital storefront for that matter — to keep purchased content available as promised. While we doubt many will go back to DVDs or Blu-rays, it’s something to keep in mind.
Sony and Discovery botched their show removal plan
We don’t know which company was behind the plan to remove shows from the PlayStation Store. And it was likely the fault of both companies. However, Sony failed to do right by its users, and that’s why people have been so critical of the company. People well-versed in big tech and media probably expect online purchases to become available at some point. Because there is a lot of precedent for that happening. Usually, this happens when a product reaches end-of-life status. An example would be if Sony pulled the PS Store from the PS5 years from now when the console becomes unsupported.
Instead, Sony intended to yank over a thousand Discovery shows while giving users just a few weeks of notice. Even then, Sony didn’t plan to offer refunds or even store credit as compensation. Sony reversed course here, and users still get to keep their Discovery shows for now. But it’s fair to wonder whether Sony or digital storefronts as a whole, can be trusted.