Streaming media is more than just TV, movies, and sports. If you are more interested in real events -- as opposed to just mindless fiction -- there are plenty of news, lifestyle, and public interest options too. Heck, even Hollywood gossip can be a nice escape from the stresses of daily life.

Today, Roku gains access to the PEN channel. Not familiar with it? Neither was I, but it is actually very cool. It is a joint partnership between two major media publications -- People and Entertainment Weekly. This looks to be a match made in heaven, as they both offer entertainment news and fairly light public interest stories. It should prove brilliant for relaxing and temporarily getting your mind off your daily responsibilities.

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YouTube was criticized recently for preventing content-makers from monetizing videos that covered certain topics. But this is far from being the only complaint levelled at the video site. British music industry body UK Music says that artists are not receiving enough in the way of royalty payment from YouTube.

UK Music's 2016 report, Measuring Music shows that YouTube remains the most popular way for people to consume music in the UK. Despite this, the report says that the effective 'per-stream' payment rate fell from $0.0020 to $0.0010.

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If you no longer subscribe to cable or satellite then Sling TV becomes a viable alternative. It operates in the same way, with live TV coverage on multiple channels, and we've recently seen Sling add several new ones, including BBC America. There's also occasional previews. Back in May we had DIY and currently there are college sports networks on the air.

Now NFL Network is on the list and it carries a number of games during the season, in addition to full-time news coverage.

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While we anxiously await the start of the NFL season, we have college football getting underway. Games have begun and fans are hanging on every moment waiting to see who the next national champion will be. While there are the obvious favorites that we won't name because if you follow the sport then you know.

Now TuneIn, who last season brought us radio broadcasts of NFL games, is doing the same for the collegiate level of the game. The company has partnered with a number of media outlets to carry the play-by-play call.

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It seems that serious data breaches are all but an everyday occurrence at the moment. At the same time, there have also been instances of historical hacks suddenly coming to light such as the 2012 breach of Dropbox.

But Dropbox was not the only company to suffer an attack in 2012 -- so did music site Last.fm. Now, four years after the hack, details of 43 million accounts have been leaked.

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If you have never used Plex then you may be missing out on a great source of entertainment. The media server can be used on multiple devices. You'll need to install the server on a computer that's always on (and holds your media), but the required software is free. You can then access your content on a set-top box like Roku or Fire TV, or even an HTPC. You'll just need to install the relevant Plex app on your devices.

A new update is promising global DVR support worldwide and you'll be able to use it from mobile devices anywhere you have a connection.

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As of today, Thursday 1 September, if you stream any content from BBC iPlayer without owning a TV licence, you are breaking the law. But as with licences for televisions, it's not clear how -- or, indeed, if -- the BBC will be checking to see whether watchers have paid up or not.

If you fire up BBC iPlayer now, you'll be greeted by a nag screen that asks: "Got a TV licence? You need one to watch any BBC programme on iPlayer -- live, catch-up or on-demand. It's the law". Viewers need to click to indicate whether or not they have a licence, and of course there is nothing to stop people from lying. What is not known, though, is whether privacy-invading snooping will be used to perform licence checks.

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Kim Dotcom has never been a man to shy away from the public eye, and his upcoming trial is not going to see that change. Facing extradition to the US where he faces numerous charges, Dotcom has won the right to have the hearing live streamed on YouTube.

It's fair to say that there will be a good deal of interest in the content and outcome of the hearing, but the judge who agreed to the live streaming has insisted that a few restrictions be put in place. Firstly there will be a 20-minute delay (so not technically a 'live' stream), and comments will be disabled as well.

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Sling TV has received a lot of publicity lately. Getting your television fix over the internet is no longer a new thing thanks to services like YouTube and Hulu, but Sling takes things to another level, delivering live TV that mimics cable and satellite and features channels like CNN and ESPN to name just two.

Now NBC is finally arriving, even though you could already get MSNBC and NBC Sports. However, there's a bit of catch with this addition.

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AMC doesn't always show the latest films, but it does land some big names from Hollywood, and of course it's responsible for producing some excellent original content. It's become a go-to channel for surfers looking for something to watch. Now the entertainment network is coming to that tiny set-top box in your living room.

The channel debuts just in time for the mid-season launch of Fear the Walking Dead. If you're into zombie apocalypses then that's certainly for you.

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Its been two and half years since I parted ways with DirecTV. It wasn't them, I honestly loved the service, but I was paying for countless channels I never watched. I replaced it with Hulu Plus and Sling TV and now pay much less for fewer channels I don't watch. I have the same few I flick between, but without al-a-carte this is the best I can do.

Recently a system problem eliminated one of my options -- not the TV channels, but how I view them. I'd been predominantly using an Amazon Fire TV along with a Harmony remote. The remote stopped connecting to its hub and no fix I could think of worked. The batteries in my Fire TV remote were dead and I had no spare AAA ones lying around. Similarly, the Roku 3 batteries were also history, but I did have the required AA ones.

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China's overarching control of the internet, technology, and its people in general is nothing new. The Great Firewall of China is famous for placing huge restrictions on what citizens are able to access online, and recently the government banned the use of social media as a news source.

The latest target for the Chinese government is the increasingly popular activity of live streaming. The proposal includes a requirement for all live streamed content to be monitored around the clock.

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This past weekend the NFL pre-season got underway with games over several days. The first of four weeks of action that tell you little about how your team will really be because the play calling is generic in an effort to hide real game plans.

Depending on the market you live in you'll get your local team's game and a couple of others, but what if you want them all? What if you're a fan of an out-of-market team. Say you're a Cowboys fan living in Philadelphia -- aside from getting abuse, you can also get the Dallas games, and every other team.

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The age of free Hulu is over. The ad-supported side of the streaming video service is being killed off, and anyone who is currently making use of the free option will be moved to a free trial of a full subscription.

Nine years after its launch, Hulu is ditching its ad-supported tariffs and will instead focus on pushing people towards paying a monthly subscription. The move comes after the streaming company expanded its deal with Yahoo so that shows from ABC, NBC and Fox will be available to stream eight days after broadcast.

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With training camp now underway the new NFL season is starting to feel close. That can mean different things to different people. For some it's excitement while others may think of it as a temporary loss of their significant other on Sundays.

Now, just in time for kickoff, Sling TV has announced that the league is coming to its online streaming live TV service with the launch of the NFL Network and NFL RedZone.

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