Sony’s PlayStation Store will remove access next month to hundreds of movie titles from StudioCanal that customers in Germany and Austria previously purchased according to FlatPanelsHD (via Variety).
The removal comes a year after Sony’s PlayStation group stopped offering film and TV series purchases and rentals due to the rise of streaming video services, and a few months after the launch of StudioCanal’s own SVOD service in select European markets.
At the time, Sony assured customers they could “still access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices.”
That access wasn’t permanent though it seems with PlayStation posting notice about the impending removal of the StudioCanal content on its website for the region:
“As of August 31st 2022, due to our evolving licensing agreements with content providers, you will no longer be able to view your previously purchased Studio Canal content and it will be removed from your video library. We greatly appreciate your continued support.”
There’s no indication as to whether PlayStation Store will refund customers for their purchases of movies that will no longer be available. The list includes some major Studiocanal-financed films like “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” the “Paddington” films, and “Shaun the Sheep Movie”. In addition, multiple Lionsgate movies will also no longer be available including the “Hunger Games” and “Saw” franchises and “John Wick”.
The news adds fire to the ongoing conversation about physical vs. digital media and just what exactly one ‘owns’ in regards to purchased digital media be it films, TV, games, music or literature. What does something like this mean for film history as well considering physical media (especially DVDs) decays with time and digital seems so ephemeral?
It also begs the obvious question – could larger players like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and others follow suit in larger markets?
