Sony’s PlayStation group is done with the digital movie and TV transactional VOD business – shutting down its digital video store as of August 31st this year.
At that time the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals as Sony confirms it is exiting the transactional VOD business because it sees more of its user base adopting AVOD and SVOD services and so is not worth the ongoing investment to keep it going.
Customers who have made purchases will still be able to access movie and TV content they purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on PS4 and PS5 consoles and mobile devices.
The shut down comes despite double-digit growth in the sector in 2020 as electronic sell-through sales rose 16% to $3 billion and VOD rentals were up 18% to $2.3 billion. However it is a crowded field dominated by Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Video and Google Play worldwide while Fandango, Vudu and Roku are big players as well within the United States.
Source: Variety
