Sony Reminds Us What 'Digital Ownership' Really Means

Sony is removing 551 movies and TV shows from PlayStation libraries in the UK on September 1, so if you’re in the UK and you bought any of the affected titles, come September, they will disappear from your account. No refunds.

Why now? Licensing issues. Sony had a licensing agreement with Studio Canal to sell its content through PlayStation, and when the agreement expired, they didn't renew it. So Sony has to remove the content from its users' libraries. PlayStation users in the UK will be saying goodbye to major titles like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the John Wick series, Total Recall, Apocalypse Now, Hot Fuzz, Pan's Labyrinth, and Paddington (oh no!).

This isn’t Sony’s first go at digital take-backsies. In 2022, it removed Studio Canal titles from users in Germany and Austria. In 2023, it pulled over 1,300 seasons of Discovery TV shows from PlayStation libraries. Each time, the same explanation: licensing agreements expired.

This is the reality of digital media. When you click “buy” you're not always buying the content. You might just be buying a revocable license that can be snatched back when the companies can't agree on a new deal.