Netflix has been bombarded with requests to pay for priority service, and the extra payments appear to be working. The speed of Netflix's service in the U.S. has shot up 51 percent in the past year.

Reports started circulating regarding Netflix paying AT&T, Comcast and other Internet service providers to keep adequate speeds. This happened after several ISPs dropped speeds dramatically, making Netflix unwatchable for some.

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The biggest hike in speed for Netflix comes from Mediacom, a Midwest ISP. Mediacom has been upgrading some of its DSL and broadband speeds, which may account for the 71 percent speed increase.

Comcast and AT&T customers also noticed faster speeds on Netflix throughout 2014. The speeds have surpassed 2MB on average, although there is still room for improvement, for customers who want to watch full HD movies and TV shows.

Other cable and satellite providers seen similar speed increases, pointing to a good year for Internet speeds, regardless of the current net neutrality debate.

Netflix has become the most dominant video service in the U.S., taking more than one-third of all peak Internet traffic. YouTube and Facebook sit farther behind, although both are ahead of Netflix in the mobile battle.

Internet providers are looking to change the rules to make Netflix pay more for this excessive amount of data. It comes after a failed alliance by cable providers to make Hulu Plus a successful service.

Netflix has more than 60 million subscribers worldwide and potentially 40 million subscribers in the U.S. alone. Previous figures released earlier in the year counted 37.5 million subscribers, which is more than HBO.

The heavy investment in 2013 and 2014 in original programming has given Netflix an edge on other streaming service. It has also allowed the Internet TV service to offer prime-time shows like "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," not available anywhere else.

Tagsnetflix, Mediacom, Comcast, AT&T, ISP