Amazon has signed a contract with Top Gear’s presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May to create a new car show exclusively for its streaming service.
The new show will launch in 2016 as first reported by the London Evening Standard and will be exclusively available online via Amazon’s Prime Video service.
We've got a brand new ride. #OnlyOnAmazonPrime #Drive2Prime http://t.co/ebJJAd8gP2 pic.twitter.com/SzBPvPfWTQ
— Amazon Video UK (@AmazonVideoUK) July 30, 2015
It’ll be produced by ex-Top Gear executive Andy Wilman. The deal commits Clarkson, Hammond and May to three seasons of the show and filming is planned to begin this Fall.
The trio separated from the BBC after Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer during filming of Top Gear and his contract was subsequently not renewed.
I'm very excited to announce that Hammond, May and I have signed a deal with .@AmazonVideo
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) July 30, 2015
Amazon and Jeremy Clarkson have confirmed the news, but the show doesn’t have a name yet.
Signing the trio on exclusively is a huge win for Amazon, particularly as it was rumored Netflix was close to reaching a deal for the new show.
Top Gear reached more than 350 million people worldwide, so will likely help Amazon take its streaming service to new heights.
One issue Amazon needs to tackle in the near term is that Prime Video is not available as broadly as Netflix. Right now, it’s only available in United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Austria, Germany and launching soon in India.
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