General Discussion SONY removing 1,000+ seasons of purchased Discovery content from Playstation video libraries. (1 Viewer)

[Wayne_j]

Sony Pulls Discovery Videos PlayStation Users Already Own, Sparking Concern Over Our Digital Future - IGN

Sony has sparked outrage online after pulling some PlayStation content even from those who bought it.

www.ign.com

"Sony has signaled its intention to pull some PlayStation content even from those who bought it, sparking concern from customers.



In a brief notice on the PlayStation website, Sony said it planned to remove hundreds of Discovery films from users’ video libraries, preventing them from watching the content they’d paid money for. Sony explained the decision as being due to “content licensing arrangements with content providers”.

Here’s the statement in full:

As of 31 December 2023, due to our content licensing arrangements with content providers, you will no longer be able to watch any of your previously purchased Discovery content and the content will be removed from your video library.

We sincerely thank you for your continued support.

Thank you,

PlayStation Store

There follows a long list of affected video content, which includes over 1,000 seasons of shows, including Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Tanked, MythBusters, and An Idiot Abroad."

 

[Robert Crawford]

This was already posted by Ron Epstein in the Streaming Frustrations, Part 2 thread.

 

[Baenwort]

I'm glad this was broken out as I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm glad this was broken out as I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise.

TBH, I think somebody posted it earlier this year in a separate thread because I remember something about the Playstation losing access to some content.

 

[Worth]

Cue the “and this is why discs are better than digital” comments.

 

[John Dirk]

Cue the “and this is why discs are better than digital” comments.

Discs are actually digital too but I understood your meaning. "Better" is subjective and therefore unworthy of debate, in my opinion. I'll just say, this is one of the reasons I prefer physical media for my catalog content, although I also remain a daily streaming consumer as well..

 

[Keith Cobby]

I prefer discs and also stream, but only own about a dozen films and TV on digital files. I haven't read the t's & c's but always assume they can be removed.

 

[dpippel]

Cue the “and this is why discs are better than digital” comments.

This situation is a perfect example of why streaming is NOT a slam dunk.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This situation is a perfect example of why streaming is NOT a slam dunk.

There are no slam dunks because yesterday I threw away my Basic Instinct Blu-ray because it wouldn’t play on any of my players.

 

[dpippel]

There are no slam dunks because yesterday I threw away my Basic Instinct Blu-ray because it wouldn’t play on any of my players.

Yeah, but at least a team of lawyers didn't come into your home and confiscate the disc because a licensing agreement expired.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, but at least a team of lawyers didn't come into your home and confiscate the disc because a licensing agreement expired.

Please! This tiresome streaming versus physical media argument is so lame because the general public has already decided the outcome.

 

[dpippel]

Please!

Are you defending the industry here?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Are you defending the industry here?

I think the whole argument is lame and non-valued.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Are you defending the industry here?

Screw the industry because they messed up another home video format.

 

[dpippel]

I think the whole argument is lame and non-valued.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I see a possible legal precedent being set that could have major ramifications for customers who've purchased streaming content. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.

 

[Robert Crawford]

We'll have to agree to disagree. I see a possible legal precedent being set that could have major ramifications for customers who've purchased streaming content. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.

That’s beyond my pay grade!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

We'll have to agree to disagree. I see a possible legal precedent being set that could have major ramifications for customers who've purchased streaming content. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.

Yeah, this may well be the catalyst for more definitive legal actions and eventual fallout on how the whole digitals "ownership" scene plays out going forward...

IF Sony gets away w/ this, especially w/out much meaningful compensation to their customers, then it would certainly set some major legal precedent for others -- definitely hope they don't get away w/ this...

Of course, no doubt they'll cite whatever fine print in their user agreement(s) that would legally allow for this, so assuming some class action suit ensues, the courts will probably have to decide if their fine print was good/justified enough (vs current consumer protection laws, established legal judgments/precedents, reasonable consumer expectations, etc)...

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

TBH, I think somebody posted it earlier this year in a separate thread because I remember something about the Playstation losing access to some content.

I seem to recall something similar for the PS platform a while ago as well -- might've been before this year -- but IIRC, it (at least the incident I vaguely recall anyway) was something much smaller scale... perhaps that was Sony just testing the waters a bit before making this kind of (more clearly) bigger move...

_Man_

 

[Worth]

I think I have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 500 movies on iTunes. I've never had a problem with any of them, and I can still access titles that are no longer available for purchase and those which have changed distributors. On the other hand, I've always felt that it's less secure than having a disc, so I only buy titles that are about the price of a rental. That way, even if they disappear one day, I figure it was still worthwhile.

 

[B-ROLL]

There are no slam dunks because yesterday I threw away my Basic Instinct Blu-ray because it wouldn’t play on any of my players.

Hopefully you removed the icepick before you removed the disc ...