Netflix lost out to Amazon in luring
Jeremy Clarkson,
James May, and
Richard Hammond to the world of streaming after they left
Top Gear, so it has settled on the next best thing. Content boss Ted Sarandos has
revealed to Buzzfeed that the streaming service will air new episodes of the Chris Evans-helmed
Top Gear at the international level.
According to Sarandos, the streaming agreement will “fall under the same deals” for international distribution as the Clarkson/Hammond/May version of TG. Although that makes it sound as though
Top Gear will be available anywhere Netflix is, Sarandos said it’s not quite as simple as that.
“Worldwide I don’t know, as there are pockets of output deals that block all of those things, so we can only control worldwide on things that we can control outright, or things that we take on very early in their life,” Sarandos told
Buzzfeed. “But multi-territory for sure.”
If sure sounds like Netflix is setting up a showdown with Amazon with this move, but it’s not yet clear when
Top Gear will head to streaming. The new series is slated to air in the UK, USA, and other markets in May, but according to
Buzzfeed, Sarandos wouldn’t (or couldn’t) say when TG would hit the streaming service. If, as
Buzzfeed predicts, that happens later in the year, Netflix
will be able to challenge Amazon’s new motoring show – it’d just be doing it with episodes that reached the bulk of its audience months prior.
If the episodes are in fact delayed in reaching Netflix, we don’t see this move having quite as big an impact on Netflix’s fortunes as the new Clarkson/Hammond/May series will have on Amazon’s. Regardless,
Top Gear is still a prize for Netflix. It’s just a consolation prize.
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