Many pay-TV subscribers threaten to cancel their cable or satellite TV subscriptions, but few of them actually do it. Consumer Reports found that just 1.4 percent of pay-TV subscribers have cut the cord in the last two years, but that another 7 percent are "considering canceling their service." (See Comcast CEO Dismisses Cord-Cutting Trend .)

Always sure not to miss a new opportunity, video guide and software firm Rovi Corp. has launched a Smart TV Field trial in the U.S. to explore how ads can be piped to connected TVs, Blu-ray players. Rovi, which will test ad campaign metrics and consumer behavior, intends to conduct additional trials in the U.K. and Canada in the second half of the year. (See CES 2011: Samsung Puts MSOs in the Picture.)

Hulu LLC is managing to convince hundreds of thousands of viewers to pay US$8 monthly to access full-length TV series and movies on broadband-connected TVs and other devices. CEO Jason Kilar says Hulu is on track to top 1 million subscribers for its Hulu Plus premium service by the end of 2011. (See TiVo, Roku Hook Up Hulu Plus and Hulu Opens Toll Road .)

Pay-TV providers will see much of their revenue from selling premium programming shift to Internet video outlets, if you buy the prediction from Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) Chief Media and Entertainment Strategist Chris Van Noy that half of premium video content will be consumed by connected devices by early 2014.

Competition from cable overbuilder Full Channel TV isn't stopping Cox Communications Inc. from hiking rates in Rhode Island by 9.4 percent beginning April 15.

It didn't take long for new online movie streaming service Zediva to get slapped with a copyright infringement suit from the Motion Picture Association of America .

Investors are betting big on Web video, with private companies focused on online and mobile video raising $477 million in the first quarter of 2011.

That $30 fee that Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) will be asking subs to pay for premium video-on-demand movies appearing 60 days after their theatrical debut is too pricey to generate significant demand, according to researchers at The Diffusion Group (TDG) . (See Study: $30 VoD Titles Won't Win.)

Dish is the first satellite provider to launch Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA)'s new channel EPIX, which is distributed by Cox Communications Inc. , Charter Communications Inc. , Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)'s FiOS and other cable MSOs. Dish subs can also access Epix movies online. (See EPIX Gains Traction With 'TV Everywhere' Model.)

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