Sure, but in this case, maintaining the digital properties surely won't bleed Sony dry.
Letting people download the content DRM-free for a period of time while sunsetting the service wouldn't bleed them dry either.
It's not even a mistake Sony made (unlike Allianz or whichever firm it was), it was a deal that they decided to renege on after taking money simply because they can.
I think some European court denied their request to weasel out of it.