Netflix trounces Amazon in online streaming battle but BBC iPlayer remains on top
Online streaming service Netflix is pulling further ahead of Amazon in the UK online streaming market according to the latest study of the sector to be compiled by Ofcom.
It shows that Netflix now reaches 4.4m households, a 16 per cent increase on the 2.8m it commanded just a year ago and far ahead of its closest competitor, Amazon Prime Instant Video, which commands just 1.2m as of the end of March.
This is the exact same figure clocked up by Amazon a year ago although it does represent a recovery since Christmas, when its household reach dipped as low as 1m.
Amazon bosses will be hoping their recent signing of Top gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond will give it a much needed shot in the arm.
Both services remain well behind the free to access BBC iPlayer however which, with 31 per cent of UK adults viewing over the past 12 months, remains the largest provider of online video in the country.
On-demand viewing continues to grow in importance with 8 per cent of total viewing now conducted in this way, a proportion which rises to 13 per cent for those aged 16-24.