Sony is erasing digital libraries that were supposed to be accessible “forever”
Sony is erasing digital libraries that were supposed to be accessible “forever”
Casualties afoot as Sony merges Funimation with 2021-acquired Crunchyroll.
If purchasing something doesn't mean you own it, then piracy isn't theft.
If someone sells something to you and then takes it back later, that is theft.
If you weren't allowed to back up a copy of it, you never owned it.
This is huge and not like what happened last month.
Last month they removed access to "Deadly Dentists | Season 1" and similar shows that are also broadcasted 24/7 everywhere on TV, so not too many people "purchased" them.
But for anime the chance that a big fan is losing access to a massive collection of titles paid thousands of dollars is much higher.
Sony didn't learn from the backlash that happened less than two months ago?????
I'm waiting for the class action lawsuit on this.
Their TOS most likely forbids class action suits. It most likely requires individual or “small batch” arbitration that benefits Sony.
That image choice by Ars Technica was no coincidence.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Funimation, a Sony-owned streaming service for anime, recently announced that subscribers' digital libraries on the platform will be unavailable after April 2.
For years, Funimation had been telling subscribers that they could keep streaming these digital copies of purchased movies and shows, but qualifying it: “forever, but there are some restrictions.”
But in addition to offering video streaming, Funimation also dubbed and released anime as physical media, and sometimes those DVDs or Blu-rays would feature a digital code.
For people lacking the space, resources, or interest in maintaining a library of physical media, this was a good way to preserve treasured shows and movies without spending more money.
It also provided a simple way to access purchased media online if you were, for example, away on a trip and had a hankering to watch some anime DVDs you bought.
Regarding refunds, Funimation's announcement directed customers to its support team "to see the available options based on your payment method," but there's no mention of getting money back from a DVD or Blu-ray that you might not have purchased had you known you couldn't stream it "forever."
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Sony is shit for doing this, however if you buy streaming content thinking you’re going to have access to it forever you’re kidding yourself. Businesses will supply streaming content for as long as it’s profitable to do so. When that profit evaporates so does your content.