Purchased content missing for re-download

Hi All I purchased a kids tv show “Spirit riding free” last year for my kids I’ve just gone back to it to check the episodes were downloaded and over half the episodes are now gone I’ve tried to re-download but they arnt available without re-purchasing

a similar thing has happened with a Jurrasic park movie bundle I purchased I went to download one of the films for my daughter using the family sharing as we always do ( kids have their own accounts so they cnt rack up a bill on my account 🤣) and again this film isn’t available to download yet all the others are os this normal when I’ve purchased something we got rid of lots of dvds and purchased the films digitally for us to keep and I thought they’d be accessible regardless of how long ago I bought them if this is the case and they arnt always available I feel like I’ve wasted money

any help would be appreciated

thanks x

iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 26

Posted on Dec 5, 2025 1:54 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 6, 2025 6:11 AM

It is difficult reading your post since many of us helping on this site are older and are accustomed to clear sentence structure with punctuation. ;-)


Apple does not guarantee that content will always be available.

Legal - Apple Media Services - Apple

- F. ” Purchased Content will generally remain available for you to download, redownload, or otherwise access from Apple. Though it is unlikely, subsequent to your purchase, Content may be removed from the Services and become unavailable for further download or access from Apple (for instance, because Apple loses its right from the Content provider to make it available). To ensure your ability to continue enjoying Content, we encourage you to download all purchased Content to a device in your possession and to back it up."


Assuming you are using accounts with access to that content, it could be missing if an item gets re-released or re-labeled. This has happened in the past with slightly different versions of music such as an original version being replaced with a remix. It could also be that an item was removed from the store by the vendor.


If you have relocated to a different country, the item might not be available in that country. It might be in the store but with a different language.


A previous reply contains several possible errors:


Ask to Buy or Restrictions does not apply to previously allowed content.


Unless this is a technical error at their end, I have never, ever seen mention that Apple Support will restore your viewing rights. You are welcome to contact them and ask. Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page under “Get more help” (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.


This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple Support - Apple Support For some countries look under “Other” listing at the end of the list. Not every country has telephone support, and phone numbers may only work when calling from the same country.



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 6, 2025 6:11 AM in response to Rossini23

It is difficult reading your post since many of us helping on this site are older and are accustomed to clear sentence structure with punctuation. ;-)


Apple does not guarantee that content will always be available.

Legal - Apple Media Services - Apple

- F. ” Purchased Content will generally remain available for you to download, redownload, or otherwise access from Apple. Though it is unlikely, subsequent to your purchase, Content may be removed from the Services and become unavailable for further download or access from Apple (for instance, because Apple loses its right from the Content provider to make it available). To ensure your ability to continue enjoying Content, we encourage you to download all purchased Content to a device in your possession and to back it up."


Assuming you are using accounts with access to that content, it could be missing if an item gets re-released or re-labeled. This has happened in the past with slightly different versions of music such as an original version being replaced with a remix. It could also be that an item was removed from the store by the vendor.


If you have relocated to a different country, the item might not be available in that country. It might be in the store but with a different language.


A previous reply contains several possible errors:


Ask to Buy or Restrictions does not apply to previously allowed content.


Unless this is a technical error at their end, I have never, ever seen mention that Apple Support will restore your viewing rights. You are welcome to contact them and ask. Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page under “Get more help” (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.


This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple Support - Apple Support For some countries look under “Other” listing at the end of the list. Not every country has telephone support, and phone numbers may only work when calling from the same country.



Dec 6, 2025 4:27 AM in response to Rossini23

You are not supposed to lose purchased movies or TV episodes — ever.

If something you bought disappears or shows a price again, it’s almost always caused by one of these:

  1. Content temporarily removed from the iTunes Store in your region
  2. A licensing change for the studio (Universal, DreamWorks, etc.)
  3. Hidden purchases
  4. Wrong Apple ID / Family Sharing issue
  5. Kids using child accounts (Ask to Buy / Restrictions)
  6. Bundle rights not matching individual episode rights

The good news:

You do NOT need to re-purchase anything, and Apple Support can restore your viewing rights if needed.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Purchased content missing for re-download

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