DYNAMIC STREAMING AND THE RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL AFTER SKY ÖSTERREICH (C-234/25): IMPLICATIONS FOR GREEK CONSUMER LAW

This case note examines the judgment of the Court of Justice in Sky Österreich Fernsehen, delivered on 9 July 2026, and its implications for the distinction between digital content and digital services under the Consumer Rights Directive. The Court rejected a purely media-centred understanding of streaming and held that an adaptive, dynamically configured streaming subscription may constitute a digital service rather than the supply of digital content. The classification matters because the special exception allowing the loss of the right of withdrawal for certain digital content does not apply in the same manner to digital services. The note argues that the judgment introduces a functional test centred on the architecture and commercial design of the offer: the more the trader curates, personalises, updates and technically mediates the consumer’s access, the less convincing a static “content” characterisation becomes. It concludes by identifying immediate implications for Greek consumer contracts, subscription terms and evidentiary practice.