Amazon announced today that its Instant Video streaming service has surpassed both Apple and Hulu in streaming video usage. Amazon cited a report from Qwilt, a company that tracks growth in online video usage. Assuming that the claim is correct, this would make Instant Video the third largest video site overall, behind YouTube and Netflix. The service offers an extensive catalog of content available only to Amazon Prime members at no additional cost to their Prime membership.
In the near future, we may see Instant Video rise even further. With last week’s launch of Amazon Fire TV set-top box, more people now have the chance to rent or purchase video content through Amazon. The set-top box will be the entry point for bringing those people into the fold, and Amazon offers enough content to make sure that it has something to suit everyones liking.
Amazon also continues to heavily invest in original content. Recently it ordered the second round of original shows, which have been able to generate a decent amount of buzz, but not more so than Netflix’s original shows. The company seems to be committing to making it big in this niche, and its taking it on from all fronts. How it continues to progress will certainly be interesting to watch.