Top Gear team sign TV deal with Amazon
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have signed a deal with Amazon to present a new motoring show.
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have signed a deal with Amazon to present a new motoring show.
Long-time Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman will produce the programme, which will air exclusively on Amazon Prime in 2016. The Stig, the programme’s anonymous racing driver, will not be joining them.
Amazon confirmed the news yesterday, tweeting a picture of the three presenters with the message: “We’ve got a brand new ride. #OnlyOnAmazonPrime #Drive2Prime”.
The deal is a coup for Amazon, whose on-demand video service has just half the number of UK subscribers of its rival Netflix.
While no financial details of the deal have emerged, an Amazon insider told the Evening Standard: “We have made a significant investment.” According to the same report, Top Gear generated about £50 million a year for the BBC.
The show will be only available to Amazon Prime members, who pay £79 a year for their subscription.
Clarkson was sacked from the BBC in March after a “fracas” involving one of the show’s producers.
