Apple iTunes movie purchase long term availability

Yes, you could potentially lose them if they are removed from the Store and you don't have a local copy. In fact, that is fairly common. Keep a backup.

To your "even if I download them" question, that is also a possibility, although far less likely. The films you have acquired are DRM-protected and can only be played back with Apple support. If at a future date that support is discontinued, the films would become unplayable. I am not familiar with the Flixter experience, but I have seen it happen with the "ATRAC" DRM-protected music files that Sony used to sell.

In the 15 or so years I’ve been collecting movies (I have around 800 now), not one has been removed even with films that are no longer listed in the store.

MidnightxWolf45 wrote:

How do we keep a backup of the movies & shows we buy from iTunes?

After you download a copy to your computer, locate it in Finder (or Windows Explorer), and make a copy on an external drive or flash drive.

You will still be able to keep shows/ movies even if they are taken off the store. When Boondocks went to HBO Max, it left Apple’s media store, and I still have the ONE episode (Good Times) to watch anytime.

Doesn't even have to be downloaded. 🙂

Keep in mind, iTunes only downloads HD files, not 4k.

At least, that's what was happening in 2023.

Keeping a backup copy has limited value. It still will not play in the future unless played on the original computer with the original iTunes software and original hardware configuration. Apple encrypted a DRM key for the copy with various these attributes and need the original sources to decrypt the key to play. I have been burned by this DRM key scheme and lost critical movies in my collection when I replaced an old computer.

Some here, within 15 years, I have now a collection of well over 1000 movies and TV shows. But within this period of time, I have seen many movies removed from my library, just to reappear within the next few days later, with the new preview image and the price and... well, asking me to purchase it again (?!). Also, on many occasions, by mistake I have purchased a movie that I already owned - for some reason Apple didn't recognized it - I noticed 2 identical movies in my library later. I notified Apple asking how is this possible - no explanation given, except a refund. Today, I noticed First Blood (Rambo) gone from my library again, and available for purchase (I purchased this movie twice before) - this is simply a ripoff. Apple is rubbing us blind.

How do we keep a backup of the movies & shows we buy from iTunes?

OK, but the answer is the same: keep a backup. The ability to redownload a past purchase is not guaranteed.