The NPD Group has released its Q1 2013 figures for streaming video-on-demand and, not surprisingly, Netflix is still in the lead. However, more consumers are trying alternatives as Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime experienced gains. According to NPD’s VideoWatch VOD report, the number of viewers watching TV shows using SVOD services increased 34 percent, compared to Q1 2012. Netflix dominated at 90 percent, although 4 points lower than last year.

“In the TV category alone, which accounts for 80 percent of streams, Netflix holds an 89 percent share,” notes the press release. “Hulu Plus showed healthy growth in 2013, with 10 percent of TV streams in Q1, while Amazon Prime accounts for just 2 percent of the overall TV units streamed.”

“There’s no doubt that Netflix is driving the growth in SVOD, particularly with increased attention to television programming,” said Russ Crupnick, SVP of industry analysis at NPD. “We are also seeing good gains in the streaming numbers from Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, and while neither pose an immediate threat to Netflix it is interesting to see which services later adopters will try.”

“While Hulu Plus and Amazon both still have a long way to go before they come close to catching Netflix, we are beginning to see increasing trial of these services, even among some Netflix users,” he added.

It seems that users willing to pay for video streaming are increasingly experimenting with multiple services. “In Q1 2012, 76 percent of SVOD subscribers streamed only from Netflix,” notes the release. “In Q1 2013 that figure fell to 67 percent, while 10 percent of SVOD streamers used both Netflix and Amazon Prime, and 8 percent used both Netflix and Hulu.”