PlayStation removes Discovery shows despite user purchase
Sony announced Monday that it would remove all Discovery content, including shows like “MythBusters” and “Deadliest Catch,” from user libraries, even if they were purchased from the PlayStation Store.
The company, which owns and operates PlayStation gaming consoles, said in a short statement that the Discovery shows would be removed on December 31, attributing the decision to “our content licensing agreements with content providers.”
This move came because Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of Discovery content, is looking to add more subscribers to its streaming services Max and Discovery+, competing with others such as Netflix and Disney+.
Users can also stream and purchase content on the PlayStation.
More than 1,200 titles available for purchase will be removed from the PlayStation Store, Forbes reports thisincluding “Cake Boss,” which followed the adventures of a family bakery in New Jersey for more than a decade, and “American Chopper,” a reality series about the hot-headed owners of the Orange County Choppers motorcycle garage.
Some PlayStation console users expressed frustration with Sony for taking away content that had already been purchased. An user posted on social media that they expected a full refund for products purchased on the PlayStation. Another wrote that Sony’s message to customers was essentially: “If you ‘bought’ any of these titles through PlayStation, they’ll be gone soon and too bad for you.”
Sony did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The erasure of Discovery content has raised questions about what it means to ‘own’ digital products and highlighted how customers are increasingly at the mercy of licensing deals between media companies and online stores.
from PlayStation Network terms of service that “all content” offered, including on the PlayStation Store, “is licensed on a non-exclusive and revocable basis.”
Users of other streaming services and devices have filed similar complaints with companies, including some ebook owners this year who discovered that buying an ebook doesn’t actually mean it’s theirs.
Automatic ebook updates, which are a common feature of many popular platforms including Amazon’s Kindle Store and Google Play, caused some references and sentences to be changed in the works of popular authors such as Roald Dahl, RL Stine and Agatha Christie.
Last year, the PlayStation Store also removed StudioCanal movies and TV shows from devices in Austria and Germany, despite user purchases, citing “evolving licensing agreements.” The Verge reports this.