Netflix says Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-presenters 'weren't worth' the £160million Amazon is said to have paid for new version of the show

Home Top

Up close and personal with the gang members of El Salvador: Inside the prison that is so dangerous even the guards won't go in
JFK Jr was blackmailed into standing by Kennedy cousin accused of rape and was forced to support him in court against mother Jackie O's wishes, new book claims
Is El Chapo back in Mexico? World's most-wanted drug lord seen 'escaping from hospital after car crash' just days after that Costa Rica picture emerged
Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Bill de Blasio's 'progressive' view on homelessness is sending New York City back to the Dark Ages of Western civilization
Two Texas high school football players suspended as 'extremely disturbing' video shows them HIT a referee from behind before diving on top of him
'Let's speak American': Sarah Palin enters the immigration debate and echoes Trump's assertions that 'we're a nation that speaks English'
Trump in front! The Donald leads Hillary Clinton in dramatic new poll giving him 45% to the Democrat frontrunner's 40%
Former New Jersey mayor, 71, is sentenced to 25 years in jail for repeatedly raping six-year-old child relative for two years
Troubled George Michael is seen smiling and posing topless in selfie with retired hairdresser 'he met online'
PICTURED: Muslim flight attendant 'suspended by ExpressJet for refusing to serve alcohol because it is against her faith'
'Shame doesn't matter right now': Couple calls out daughter's heroin overdose in obituary in hopes of preventing 'agony' for others
Biting the hand that feeds? NSA whistleblower granted asylum by Russia slams country's 'wrong, disappointing and frustrating' crackdown on human rights
Coalition forces have carried out 21 air strikes on ISIS in Iraq and Syria this weekend
Attempt by brothers to kill their parents fails as father distracts sons while mom dials 911, according to police
'My crib is almost finished in AFRICA!' 50 Cent reveals palatial new overseas home... as he struggles to unload Connecticut mansion after bankruptcy filing
From the horrors of starvation in south Sudan to a symbol of protest in Tiananmen Square: Heartbreaking sight of little Aylan's lifeless body is latest in line of powerful photos that have changed history
Battle for Chip the traffic chicken: FIVE-way custody dispute over hen 'arrested' for causing gridlock on San Francisco's Bay Bridge
Another cub of Cecil the lion is feared dead after being killed by rival male adult that is trying to take over the pride
Manhattan veterinarian, 59, charged with groping three women and using their dogs as cover for his creepy behavior
Student's drone crashes into Kentucky's newly renovated Commonwealth Stadium just before kick-off
'Ma'am, do you mind if I stand behind you to make sure you're safe?': Female Texas cop bowled over by teen who wanted to protect her at gas station a week after Houston officer was gunned down at the pump
New Bond author shoots down fellow 007 writers over too many plot twists which 'Fleming would never have done'
The perfect leading lady: Princess Charlene dazzles in Dior as she and husband Prince Albert honour acting icon Robert Redford at Monaco gala
EXCLUSIVE: Abandoned toys, tiny dust-covered shoes and bombed out windows: Father of tragic Aylan returns to the family home they were forced to leave after ISIS attack

Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear co-hosts 'weren't worth' money, Netflix said
The popular trio agreed a deal with Amazon said to be worth £160million
Their new motoring show is set to launch on Amazon Prime next year
Netflix said analysis of its own data led company not to make its own offer

Published: 13:50 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 14:35 EST, 6 September 2015

121

View
comments

Online streaming service Netflix has said Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-presenters 'weren't worth' the £160million said to have been paid by rival Amazon to air a new version of the show.

Netflix was known to have been in discussions with the popular trio but decided against taking things further after analysing its own viewership data of past Top Gear episodes, according to chief product officer Neil Hunt.

He revealed that Netflix's perceived popularity of the show suggested it was not worth splashing out on a £100million-plus contract to get Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on board.

Excessive: Online streaming service Netflix has said Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-presenters 'weren't worth' the £160million paid by rival Amazon to air a new version of the show

Mr Hunt told Digital Spy: 'We have past episodes of Top Gear, so we have a pretty good gauge of what audiences like.

'Our buying decisions tend to be somewhat data-driven. We have a lot of data to get the deals we want, so there we go.

'Clearly it wasn't worth the money to make the deal... I think they sold themselves for way more money [than they're worth].'

Last month the founder and CEO of Amazon admitted that signing up the former Top Gear trio for a new online motoring show was 'very, very, very expensive'.

Jeff Bezos declined to say how much the three presenters were being paid but the deal is said to be worth around £160million over three years. That would give them an eye-watering budget of £4.4million to spend on each of the 36 hour-long episodes.

The first series of the show is due to launch next year on the online retailer's streaming video service Amazon Prime.

Chief product officer Neil Hunt (pictured) said that Netflix's perceived popularity of the show suggested it was not worth splashing out on Clarkson and co

Because Amazon is a US-owned internet brand, the deal gets round a ban on Clarkson, 55, doing a car show with another UK broadcaster until 2017.

When the new show does launch, it could go head to head with the BBC’s own Top Gear revamp headed by Chris Evans.

The Amazon programme will be overseen by the trio’s longstanding executive producer, Andy Wilman, a schoolfriend of Clarkson who was widely acknowledged as the brains behind Top Gear and the inspiration for some of its more controversial moments.

However, fans will have to sign up to Amazon’s £79-a-year Prime service before they can watch Clarkson, May and Hammond – and many will have to pay even more to rig their televisions up to the internet.

Meanwhile, the BBC has admitted it faces 'tough choices', but will not announce any television channel closures when the director-general unveils proposals for its future tomorrow.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the corporation is considering the future of BBC Four as it looks for funds to develop new dramas to compete with online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.

But a BBC spokesman insisted Lord Hall - who faces severe cuts to the corporation's overall budget - will make a 'positive case' for the broadcaster's future when he delivers his speech at the Science Museum in central London.

The spokesman said: 'Tomorrow we'll be setting out a positive case for the BBC and what it can do, not announcing any closures. Drama is a priority and of course there will be tough choices ahead, but BBC Four is doing a great job as the recent pop art season showed.'

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has said a review of the BBC's royal charter will consider whether it should be 'all things to all people' or have a more 'precisely targeted' mission. The charter, which runs out at the end of next year, sets the parameters within which the corporation operates.

Chief product officer Neil Hunt claimed that Netflix's perceived popularity of the show suggested it was not worth splashing out on an expensive contract to get Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on board

Lord Hall is expected to announce plans for a new on-demand children's service called iPlay and an 'ideas service', linking BBC television and radio programmes with material from partners including the Science Museum, the Tate, the British Museum and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The iPlay service would partner children's channels, CBBC and CBeebies, and give each child a personal menu of their favourite content, including television programmes, film and audio clips, games, blogs and podcasts.

Instead of putting children into two categories - the audiences of CBeebies or CBBC - each child would have their individual collection of programmes and content, based on their age and the programmes they usually watch.

The BBC says it is the UK's leading children's broadcaster, with its television and online content reaching 58 per cent of six to 12-year-olds and 82 per cent of children under six.