Why movies and shows leave streaming services
Few things are more annoying than settling in to finish a series and finding it's gone. Titles leave streaming services all the time, and it almost always comes down to one thing: the licence ran out.
Most streaming titles are rented, not owned
When a streaming service shows a film it didn't make, it's paying the rights owner for permission to stream it, in specific countries, for a specific period. These licences commonly last anywhere from a few months to a few years. When the term ends, the service either pays to renew it or the title comes down. Renewal isn't automatic. The price may have gone up, the service may decide too few people watch it, or the owner may want it back.
The release "windows"
New films move through a series of windows. They usually start in cinemas, then become available to rent or buy online, then move to a subscription service for a set period, and later often to free or ad-supported TV. Each window can be sold to a different company. So a film arriving on one service and leaving a year later to turn up somewhere else is the deal working as planned, not an accident.
Studios taking their titles home
As studios have launched their own services, many have stopped renewing licences with competitors and moved their films and shows to their own platform instead. If a well-known series suddenly leaves Netflix in your country, check the service run by the studio that made it.
Removed to cut costs
Services sometimes remove titles they own or have rights to, simply to save money. Keeping a title on a platform can mean ongoing payments to cast and crew, and a little-watched show may not be worth it. These titles sometimes reappear later on free, ad-supported services.
It may only have left your country
Because rights are sold country by country, a title can leave a service in one country and stay on it everywhere else. That's why "it's on Netflix" can be true for one person and false for their friend abroad. See why Netflix is different in every country.
Finding where a title went
Search the title on FlickFinder. We show every subscription service that carries it, in every country, so you can see whether it moved to another service where you live or is only streaming elsewhere for now. If it isn't on any subscription service, it's usually still available to rent or buy from the big digital stores.