Here's a breakdown of what's making cable waves today.

Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings says he doesn't want to compete for rights to new TV series and the freshest movies because it could start "an Armegeddon" with the cable industry. "It would be World War III, and we likely wouldn't survive that battle," he said at the Wired Business Conference in New York City. (See Netflix Takes Subscription Video Crown .)

Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH)'s practice of offering subscribers free access to Starz Entertainment LLC has sparked a lawsuit from cable programmer and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), which accuses the satellite TV firm of copyright violations for failing to charge a premium for its movies.

ABC Inc. , NBCUniversal LLC , Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) joined the list of industry players promoting VoD advertising through the Advanced Advertising Media Project. (See Cable Project Tries to Jolt VoD Advertising .)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) launched FiOS TV in Randolph, Mass., where it will face off with Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK).

Multichannel News profiles new National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) chief Michael Powell. The former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman reportedly wants to ensure that the Commission's AllVid proceeding "does not become a stealth a la carte regime or a way to force cable providers to sell their channel lineups to online video providers at a government-established wholesale price." (See All About the FCC's AllVid.)

— Steve Donohue, Special to Light Reading Cable, and Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable