Sony has indicated that it will remove some of the PlayStation content even from those people who have purchased it, which is alarming for the buyers.
A note appeared on Sony’s website, which said that they planned to delete hundreds of Discovery content (movies) from the user’s video library. This will prevent them from watching the content, even if they have paid for it.
Sony gave the reason as to why this is happening. As per them, this decision happened because of the arrangement of the content with past providers.
Full Statement From Sony
The full statement stated that, as of 31st December 2023, because of the content licensing with the providers, the users will not be able to watch previously purchased content, and it will be removed from the video library.
The affected video list is long and has more than 1000 seasons for various shows like Mythbusters, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, and An Idiot Abroad.
This decision to remove the content has made a ruckus online and has started a debate on the future of digital media and its ownership.
In the industry, video game preservation is a trendy topic, but the removal of content from such digital libraries is on the minds of creators like TV and movie makers.
Last month, we saw Guillermo del Toro backing Christopher Nolan for his Oppenheimer campaign of physical media amid controversy created by streamers who noticed the removal of some movies.
Reaction of common owners
Skatern8r, a Reddit user, thought that they would never lose the content that he had paid for. He said he got an email from PS about the removal of the show at the end of the year because of some licensing arrangements.
He will no longer be able to watch any of the discovery-purchased content. Is there any way a user can save the content? Furthermore, he said he uses PS4 and has bought numerous seasons of Dual Survival and wishes not to lose them, and he said he was under the impression that he is the owner of that content and will not lose it.
Another Twitter user asked for an immediate refund from PlayStation, and he said he purchased all the content on their platform, and PlayStation is removing the content he purchased.
Another user commented that it is concerning for the future of digital media, and it is bad to see that this is not getting covered by mainstream people and no one is talking about it.
The worrying future of digital content
In this time of digital buying, it is important to remember that the content you just bought on any platform is not yours, and you’re not the owner. You just have the license to watch the content for an indefinite time.
Theoretically, if the broadcasters, finances, and producers are all the same for a certain show, then it should not be a problem.
When licensing arrangements are made with distributors and media companies, they can sometimes expire.
Sony has done it before
It’s not the first time Sony has removed the purchased content. In 2022, the PlayStation division told German and Australian players who bought Studio Canal programs that these programs would be removed at the end of the approaching summer.
Future consoles are indicating a total end of physical support, so we can worry about the direction in which this ownership fiasco is heading.
One can thank Warner Bros.
Recently, Warner Bros. Merged the content of HBO Max and Discovery in MAX, which is turning out to be one of the worst rebrands. There is no fog as to why the Discovery shows are getting removed from the accounts of the people who bought them.
You can check out the full list here and find out which shows that your own is getting zapped. There are many big shows like How It’s Made to My 600 Pound Life, Deadliest Coach, Mythbusters, Finding Bigfoot, and many others that are leaving.
Some people may look at them and scoff at these shows, but these are popular discovery names, and there is no doubt that PlayStation owners must have bought these shows to enjoy other than playing games.
