What is "Churn"? In streaming, "churn rates" refer to the number of consumers dropping streaming subscriptions. While churn rates were relatively low during the early days of streaming adoption -- when services were very differentiated and there were only a few major options available -- increased competition in the streaming space has caused a significant jump over the last few years. Why it matters? Initially, streaming platforms were focused almost exclusively on adding subscribers as their sole metric for success. But with studios and media companies transitioning their goals from growth to profitability, churn rates are being more heavily scrutinized than ever. With competition intensifying in the future -- particularly as platforms continue to consolidate, like HBO Max and Discovery+ -- a major goal for streamers will be to minimize churn rate and maintain subscriber levels. Where to see the impact? Of particular note in this chart is that streaming bundles tend to perform better, and demonstrate lower churn rates, than their standalone counterparts. Disney's bundle of Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ didn't see a churn rate above 4% since January 2020, while ESPN+ alone hit a 9% churn rate at the start of this year. As well, the chart only includes introductory figures for the Paramount+ with Showtime bundle, but it's initial churn rate started out lower than either Paramount+ or Showtime on their own. LA TIMES 
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Netflix reported earnings for the most recent quarter on Tuesday, and also announced a delay in its crackdown on password sharing. Initially, the streamer planned to begin eliminating shared accounts between households in the first quarter of this year, but now said it will push the effort to Q2. More: - Executives cautioned that moving the password-sharing crackdown forward also means that the benefits to subscriber rates and revenue will likely arrive in Q3, rather than Q2.
- The company added 1.75 million subscribers in Q1, roughly aligning with predictions.
- Earnings of $1.31 billion were down from $1.6 billion a year earlier, but revenue grew from $7.87 billion to $8.16 billion from the same period.
- Netflix shares initially dipped after the report but recovered in after-hours trading.
- Netflix's ad tier will soon get streams in 1080p, and subscribers will be able to view two streams at once.
- In a call with investors, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he hoped the industry can avoid a writer's strike, but promised that Netflix has "a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world" to sustain the business even if new projects take a pause.
- The company also announced the end of its original DVD subscription business, which shipped more than 5 billion discs since its launch, 25 years ago.
- Co-CEO Greg Peters blamed a "technical bug" for delays of the live "Love is Blind" Season 4 reunion special.
CNBC
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 In a new report from Insider, several "Love is Blind" contestants allege mistreatment by producers. Complaints against production company Kinetic Content include sleep deprivation, uncomfortable living situations, limited access to food and water, and a lack of urgency or concern about mental health emergencies. More: - Three different contestants report experiencing panic attacks on the "Love is Blind" set, including Season 1 contestant Briana Holmes, who claims she had to leave the show after being chased around set by cameras.
- Season 2 contestant Danielle Ruhl revealed that she disclosed past suicide attempts during her mental health screening for the show, and was surprised she was approved to participate; Ruhl ultimately married her match on the show, Nick Thompson.
- Kinetic Content responded to the report and denied any wrongdoing, saying "we have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming."
- In July 2022, former "Love is Blind" contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Kinetic, alleging "inhumane working conditions."
VULTURE
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 Comments made on a 2014 podcast by "Beef" actor David Choe resurfaced on the internet this week, leading to a backlash against the popular Netflix dark comedy series. In a clip from his now-defunct podcast "DVDASA," Choe jokingly described an incident in which he claimed to have sexually assaulted a massage therapist. More: - Choe later claimed that he made up the story in question.
- The actor is also an artist whose work is displayed at the White House and Meta HQ.
- Reporter Auro Bogado claims to have received takedown notices from Choe's own nonprofit, which owns the "DVDASA" podcast, after posting a clip of the segment.
- "Beef" studio A24 and executive producers and stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong have yet to respond to the controversy.
- "Beef" doubled its audience on Netflix this past week, with 70.38 million hours viewed; it's now the second most-popular show on the platform in the US, behind only "The Night Agent."
USA TODAY
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 "Two and a Half Men" collaborators Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre will reteam for the Max comedy series "How to Be a Bookie." Sebastian Maniscalco stars in the series, in which Sheen will play a recurring role. More: - Warner Bros. Television -- where Lorre has an overall deal -- will produce the series for the Max platform.
- Sheen and Lorre had a very public falling-out in 2011, ultimately leading to Sheen's departure from "Two and a Half Men" and a $100 million lawsuit against Lorre and WBTV, which was settled out of court.
- "How to Be a Bookie" stars Maniscalco as a veteran bookie in Los Angeles struggling to survive in the era of online gambling; Lorre co-wrote and will also direct the pilot.
DEADLINE
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A new feature from Amazon, "Dialogue Boost," uses AI to isolate and increase the volume of dialogue specifically in films and TV shows. The feature comes following years of complaints from streaming viewers that it's difficult to hear dialogue amid loud background music and audio effects. More: - According to Amazon, the feature was designed specifically with hearing-impaired audiences in mind, to make content more accessible.
- The feature is now available exclusively on select Amazon Prime Video original content, including the series "Jack Ryan," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Harlem," and films "The Big Sick," "Being the Ricardos," and "Beautiful Boy."
- The feature is available in the Audio and Subtitles drop-down menu on Prime Video.
- Similar features are available on some home theater systems and smart TVs, but Amazon Prime Video is the first streaming platform to introduce the option.
INDIEWIRE
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 Paramount+ greenlit a feature film spinoff of "Star Trek: Discovery," centered on Michelle Yeoh's character, Emperor Philippa Georgiou. "Star Trek: Section 31" finds Georgiou joining the secret Starfleet intelligence-gathering division. More: - A deleted scene from Season 1 of "Star Trek: Discovery" featured Georgiou being recruited into Section 31, leading to long-standing speculation about this project.
- The film enters production later on this year.
- "Limitless" and "Medium" vet Craig Sweeny wrote the script and will produce the film; "Star Trek: Discovery" vet Olatunde Osunsanmi directs.
- Last month, Yeoh won the Oscar for Best Lead Actress for her role in the film "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
VARIETY
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 Paramount+ is in early development on a TV series spinoff of the 1999 sci-fi comedy "Galaxy Quest." According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Breaking Bad" veteran Mark Johnson is working on scripts; the search is apparently underway for another writer to team with him on the project. More: - The film centers on the cast of a "Star Trek"-like TV show who are mistaken by aliens for a real starship crew, and transported to deep space.
- A previous "Galaxy Quest" series, which would have served as a sequel to the film, was in development at Amazon in 2015; those plans were put on hold following the death of the film's co-star, Alan Rickman.
- Johnson has an overall deal with AMC Studios; he's also working on that company's new Anne Rice adaptations "Interview with the Vampire" and "Mayfair Witches."
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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 Natasha Rothwell will return to HBO's "The White Lotus" for its upcoming third season. The actress previously appeared in the show's first season as spa manager Belinda Lindsey. More: - No plot details have been released for the show's third season, but Variety previously reported that it will be set in Thailand.
- Rothwell was Emmy nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her "White Lotus" role at the 2022 Emmys; back then, the show was considered a Limited Series, as it was not originally intended to return for future seasons.
- Rothwell also co-starred, as well as wrote and directed, on the HBO series "Insecure."
VARIETY
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- According to a new report in Rolling Stone, Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham was removed from the cast of Apple's "Mythic Quest" following multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
- Free ad-supported streaming service Mansa offers a curated selection of cultural content for Black audiences; the company was founded by actors David Oyelowo, Chiké Okonkwo, and Nate Parker, along with film financier Zak Tanjeloff.
- YouTube introduced new rules around content dealing with eating disorders, prohibiting videos that feature behaviors such as purging, extreme calorie counting, or other "imitable behaviors."
- Netflix dropped a trailer for the spy action series "Fubar," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro; the series, about father-daughter CIA operatives, premieres on May 25.
- HBO's upcoming film "Reality," an adaptation of the Off-Broadway play "Is This A Room," stars Sydney Sweeney as former NSA translator Reality Winner, who leaked a classified intelligence report about Russian election interference to the media.
- Popular streamer Kai Cenat -- who at one time had more than 300,000 subscribers to his channel -- has been banned from Twitch for unspecified terms of service violations.
- A drama series based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel and podcast "The Shards" -- set among a group of privileged teens in early '80s Los Angeles -- is in development at HBO.
- "Severance" vets Patricia Arquette and Ben Stiller re-team for Apple's dark comedy series "High Desert," arriving on May 17.
- ABC renewed the police procedural drama "The Rookie" for a sixth season.
- Netflix renewed the Indian "Ray Donovan" remake "Rana Naidu" for a second season.
- Sales pros worldwide say sales ops is key to productivity. Download the new "Trends in Sales Ops" report to learn more.*
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 |  | Lon Harris is the writer and editor of Inside Streaming and was the very first person to ever write an Inside newsletter. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and also writes about TV and film for Fandom, Screen Junkies, Rotten Tomatoes, Gamma Ray and others. Plus he has a Game of Thrones podcast called "Casterly Talk" and competes on The Movie Trivia Schmoedown as "The Professor." |  | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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