• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, November 21, 2012

Amazon is nipping at Netflix’s heels. While Netflix dominates the streaming video market, Amazon had made steady strides in recent months, according to a survey of more than 1,100 consumers in North America conducted by 451 Research’s ChangeWave service.

About 82% of respondents said they used Netflix to watch paid online video in September, down a tad from 84% in February. Amazon, however, rose to 22% from 17% earlier in the year. About 16% of respondents use iTunes, about the same as in February, and 8% used Hulu Plus, up from 6% in February.

The Amazon rise is also noteworthy when looking back further in time. In late 2010, only 7% of respondents used Amazon. At that time, 91% used Netflix, so as Netflix steadily loses share, Amazon is gaining share. The study also pointed out that 18% of Netflix subscribers now also pay for Amazon video, up from 14% in February. The big question is whether Amazon video customers will overlap as they test drive Amazon, and then ultimately ditch Netflix if Amazon, or other services, meet their needs.

The satisfaction rates for paid video services were highest for iTunes at 35% of customers being very satisfied, with Netflix at 23%, Amazon at 22% and Hulu Plus at 20%.