And what happens when Apple decides to (or is forced to) stop offering those shows for re-download? It's still a "licence" for you to be able to download them,

And what happens when Apple decides to (or is forced to) stop offering those shows for re-download? It's still a "licence" for you to be able to download them, not the same as physically owning a copy. (though slightly better, since you can just not delete the videos, and store them yourself)