Palo Alto Networks enlisted X-Files actress Gillian Anderson to star in a "Zero Trust with Zero Exceptions" ad campaign aimed at bringing “everyday cyber risks to the forefront of public awareness,” said the cybersecurity company Monday. “With the world working from anywhere, using applications that are hosted in multiple clouds or data centers, the cyber attack surface has expanded significantly," said Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora. "The first generation of zero trust cybersecurity solutions can't keep up and are inconsistent. With this campaign we sought to highlight the urgency around cybersecurity.” The campaign debuts this week and will run across digital media for the next year.

Nearly 4 million people flocked to an AMC theater in the U.S. over the Memorial Day weekend, two-thirds of them to see Top Gun: Maverick, reported the theater chain Tuesday. The film's “record-setting success,” it said, “is another example of a box office that continues to show positive signs of recovery.” Led by the opening of the Paramount Pictures feature film, the domestic box office posted a 122% year-over-year increase compared with Memorial Day 2021, AMC said. Top Gun: Maverick also pushed Imax to its best-ever Memorial Day weekend box office performance, said the company in a separate announcement. The $21 million it took in was good for a 14% share of the overall North American box office, it said. "If you thought movies were dead, go see Top Gun: Maverick," said Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. "There's no way you sit in a theatre, with a huge screen and chest-pounding speakers, and come away thinking there's any other way you want to experience Top Gun: Maverick."

TV ad spending is likely better insulated against an overall slowing ad environment than social media apps, Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak wrote investors Friday, upgrading Roku from a “sell” to “hold” rating. Wlodarczak noted Snap’s recent “disappointing outlook (see 2205240006)," comparing the current macroeconomic environment to the late 1990s “when ad-based Internet companies massively benefited from large digital ad spend by profitless Internet companies, that disappeared quickly when investors suddenly pushed those companies to generate a profit.” Also, he said, a recession could accelerate the exodus from traditional pay TV to streaming. PRG’s previous sell rating was based on mixed Roku's Q4 subscriber results and guidance, its saturation in the U.S. streaming market, “too aggressive” revenue growth expectations and Charter and Comcast’s joint move into streaming aggregation (see 2204270057). “Nothing has really changed around our concerns here, offset partially by some signs of chip shortages alleviating,” he said -- adding Roku could benefit from Netflix’ upcoming ad-based plan -- but its $9 billion valuation at $80 a share is “reasonable,” said the analyst. Roku’s strategy to invest aggressively “is unloved by the market but is frankly prudent to try to raise the barriers to entry for existing/new players and attack a sizeable revenue opportunity,” he said: “It also exacerbates the risk that basically no one generates outsized returns if it forces everyone to follow suit.” The lower stock price creates “the potential for an outside player to make a bid for the company,” he said, citing Comcast-Charter or large internet players looking to reach critical mass in streaming quickly.

The NFL didn’t respond to questions on reports it's launching a premium streaming service in July. Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that the league will have a $5 monthly service for live games on mobile phones and tablets. Games will be limited to what fans can see in their local TV markets, the story said. Before this year, those games were distributed to tablets and laptops via Yahoo and on mobile phones via major carriers in deals that have expired, it said.

Evoca went live Thursday with its 60+-channel lineup in Portland, Oregon, and includes Root Sports Northwest, TV home of the Trail Blazers and Timbers in Portland, the Kraken, Mariners and Seahawks in Seattle, plus the Gonzaga University Bulldogs, said the ATSC 3.0 pay TV service. The basic Evoca service costs $25 a month, plus the receiver, and newly added Sling TV programming options enable Evoca customers to access all their content through the Evoca channel guide at higher-priced tiers (see 2205250001).

New and current Evoca customers can add one of three Sling TV programming options to their subscriptions and access all their content through the Evoca channel guide, said the ATSC 3.0-based pay TV service Wednesday. Evoca subscriptions with either Sling Orange or Sling Blue cost $55 a month, plus the receiver, and include a $5 discount on the bundles. Evoca subscriptions with both Sling Orange and Sling Blue cost $70 a month, plus the receiver, also with the $5 discount. The stand-alone Evoca subscription is $25 a month, plus the receiver.

Nielsen’s Gracenote launched a data service to help content discovery platforms connect consumers to programming on free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels, along with linear channels, on virtual MVPD services, it said Tuesday. Gracenote Streaming Channels will let content aggregators serve as “one-stop shops” for viewers who are increasingly turning to new free services to augment premium service content, the company said. The offering includes access to Gracenote’s database of schedules for linear streaming channels, including a Gracenote ID, and normalized channel and program metadata with imagery, descriptions and celebrity information, it said. The dataset improves content discoverability and enables personalized program recommendations across different services, the company said. FAST channels are often themed and remain available for a finite time period, Gracenote said, giving the example of a dedicated channel for TV programming resonating with Asian viewers during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month. “Based on the temporal nature of the offering, the ability to integrate the FAST channel and make its content discoverable quickly is critical,” it said. As more consumers adopt FAST channels, “easy integration and discovery options become more important than ever for aggregator platforms,” said Gracenote Chief Product Officer Simon Adams.

The New Jersey communities of Longport and Irvington don't have a private right of action against Netflix and Hulu to seek franchise fees from the streamers under the state's Cable TV Act, U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler said in a docket 2:21-cv-15303 opinion entered Monday as he granted the defendants' motion to dismiss. Chesler said the state legislature clearly was designating the Board of Public Utilities as its local franchising authority, and letting the communities seek redress would usurp the board's authority. Outside counsel for the plaintiffs didn't comment.

Comments are due July 22, replies Aug. 22, on a petition from public interest groups calling for the agency to require licensees to collect diversity data from the companies that make their media content, including streaming services, said a public notice listed in Monday’s Daily Digest. The petition was filed earlier this month by programmer Fuse Media and public interest groups including the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Public Knowledge and Common Cause (see 2205060005), and isn’t limited to Media Bureau licensees. It also includes broadband licensees such as Alphabet and Amazon, and targets their streaming offerings YouTube and Prime.

Streaming grew 5% year on year in North America in Q1 and 9% in Europe, with big-screen TVs getting 77% of streamed minutes globally in the quarter, Conviva reported Thursday. Smart TV viewing time grew by 34% year on year in Q1, while desktop PCs and gaming consoles had a 15% decline, it said. Connected TV device viewing slipped 1%, with Roku having 31% of viewing time vs. Amazon Fire at 16%, said the report. Android TV had 78% more minutes streamed in Q1 vs. the prior-year quarter; LG, Samsung and Vizio were all up about 20%, it said. Globally, bitrate improved by 17.3% year on year, buffering was down 1% and video start failures dropped 17.6%, but video start rates grew, with the wait time consumers experienced for a video to start up in every region. Africa was at 8 seconds; Europe had the fastest start time at an average 4 seconds, it said. Ad impressions were up 18%, driven by high-profile sporting events: the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NCAA March Madness. Streaming on social media platforms is growing as a way for leagues to engage fans, Conviva said. TikTok grew its streaming audience share for every sports league measured, it said. The NFL had 4% viewership growth on TikTok year on year, and the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals gained over 100,000 TikTok followers during the Super Bowl weekend, it said.