According to a recent Nielsen survey, an increasing number of American consumers are turning to Internet-based streaming video services. The research indicates that 38 percent of those surveyed use Netflix, 18 percent use Hulu and 13 percent use Amazon Instant Video. These numbers all represent increases over the previous year. Additionally, binge-viewing is on the rise, with 88 percent of Netflix users and 70 percent of Hulu Plus users saying they watched three or more episodes of a TV show in a single day.

“At the same time, Nielsen says 58 percent of users prefer to view shows when they do not have to abide by schedules other than their own and can watch several episodes consecutively,” reports Broadcasting & Cable.

Interestingly, 45 percent of Netflix users said they regularly watch original series such as “House of Cards” via streaming services.

USA Today lists some of Nielsen’s key estimates:

• 38 percent of Americans “use or subscribe” to Netflix, up from 31 percent last year, although Netflix claims only about 30 million subscribing households.
• 18 percent use Hulu, up from 12 percent last year, with 12 percent saying they use the free version and 6 percent using the subscription-based Hulu Plus.
• And 13 percent said they use Amazon Prime Instant Video, nearly double the 7 percent who said so last year.

“Among Netflix users, 48 percent watch on a computer screen (up from 44 percent last year); 23 percent watch on a smartphone (up from 11 percent); 15 percent watch on their iPad, way up from 5 percent last year,” reports USA Today. “But the percentage of users who reported using Roku or Nintendo’s Wii game console dropped this year.”

There was also streaming video increases with Internet-enabled TVs, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and connected Blu-ray players.