A new study by Infonetics has found that licensing remains the biggest hurdle for TV operators looking to provide content on multiple devices.

“Multi-screen services are quickly becoming a critical service for pay-TV operators worldwide,” says Infonetics analyst Jeff Heynen. In a related study, Nielsen found that game consoles, such as Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which allow users to stream video as well, are one of the fastest-growing device segments for video watching, with nearly 40% of US homes now owning such a device. And TV viewing on tablets reportedly more than doubled in 2011.

But content creators and owners are increasingly concerned about digital rights management in a multi-screen world, making a la carte models harder to sustain. Subscription models seem to do better; one in four US households now subscribe to Netflix, and one fifth of videos watched on Netflix are now TV shows, up 8% from last year and indicating cord cutting is on the rise.

Cable companies would be wise to adopt their models for Internet viewing on a subscription basis; and in fact, a subscription-only model can be a selling point in itself for many TV viewers.

See below for Insider resources that can help with licensing and TV subscription sites.