PlayStation Users Are Losing Access To Discovery Shows That They Paid For

With the corporate-friendly copyright laws printed on current edition U.S. law books, film distribution and production companies are the default custodians of cinema. That doesn't mean they approach the responsibility of ensuring people can watch what they want, with the attitude it deserves. Quite the opposite; films and TV are devalued as mere "content," can linger in rights-holding limbo away from public exhibition, and in the streaming era, it's easier than ever to just destroy a film, as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has proven.

Now, it's Sony's turn for some anti-consumer activism. Kotaku reports that Sony will, come December 31, be deleting Discovery reality TV programs (e.g. "Mythbusters," "Deadliest Catch," etc.) from PlayStation 4 users' digital libraries (the Playstation store ceased offering movie/TV rentals and purchases in 2021, and only recently restored it, for Sony Pictures films only, in October 2023). People who have already bought and paid for these Discovery shows will lose access to them; it's like returning an item to the store where you bought it, except you don't get your money back.

Herein lies the folly of digitally "buying" movies and TV shows; you don't actually own them. The file is hosted on the servers of the seller and what you're getting for your money is access to it; it's more like an extended rental. Sony's decision to let its licensing agreement with Discovery end, without offering refunds for customers who paid for those licensed shows, is merely the latest incident in a long-running pattern.

Digital purchases can seem like the more convenient choice over physical copies; you don't have to worry about storage space or having a physical media player, and the purchase is instantaneous. However, there's a big catch hidden in the terms and conditions: if a license agreement lapses on movies or shows that you "bought," you can kiss them goodbye. As Adam Conover of "Adam Ruins Everything" succinctly put it, "When you 'buy' a Kindle book, you're actually just licensing it from Amazon." 

Similarly, since streaming platforms got into the production business, many original movies and shows are only available to watch on those platforms. MAX, Disney+, and other services have removed some of these original programs from their digital library, meaning there is no way to watch them legally any more.

Given this uncertain existence of your favorite movies or shows, it's not surprising that digital piracy went up by 18% in 2022 (per Variety). One person who's okay with that? Mike Flanagan, horror filmmaker and creator of Netflix original series like "Midnight Mass" and "The Fall of the House of Usher." Since Netflix hasn't released a physical edition of "Midnight Mass," its fate is entirely down to the company's whims. Thus, Flanagan is fine with some individuals taking wider distribution of his show into their own hands:

"Yesterday's 'pirates' are, in some cases, the only hope for archival preservation of a growing amount of shows and movies. I have purchased several pirated Blu-ray copies of 'Midnight Mass,' am very impressed with the quality and presentation, and I am profoundly grateful they exist. Godspeed, noble archivists."

When companies put up walls between customers and content, piracy is an inevitable response.