Why are some purchased movies in my AppleTV library not playing on Apple TV?

Some of the movies in my AppleTV library just show a black screen with no audio or errors when I try to play them. Other movies I bought from Apple continue to play as usual. There doesn't seem to be anything different about those movies. Some I bought at the same time will play while others bought at the same time won't.

My Apple TV has the latest OS. I have rebooted. The AppleTV is connected by ethernet, so the problem is not wi-fi signal related.

The only way I have found to play the movies is to exit my library and go to the "Search" function of the AppleTV app. When I find the movie, its info shows that I have already purchased it. I can play it from the search results, but not from its icon in my library.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 18

Posted on May 23, 2025 2:38 PM

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May 24, 2025 6:13 AM in response to buzzdude

I had the exact same experience after updating to tvOS 18.5. After trying the usual troubleshooting methods I finally took the nuclear option and reset my Apple TV to factory settings. That fixed it! All my apps were reloaded during the reset. The only annoyance was that I had to login again to all my streaming services.


Now all the movies in my Apple TV library play again.


Reset Apple TV - Apple Support


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Why are some purchased movies in my AppleTV library not playing on Apple TV?

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