Netflix May Be Negotiating To Stream BBC's New Top Gear

We already know that the new car show from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May — essentially the "new" Top Gear — has found a home on Amazon's streaming video service, and that the BBC's reboot of the "old" Top Gear will debut on the UK network in late May with a new set of hosts. But about when it comes time for this iteration of Top Gear to head to streaming services? If a new report from The Guardian is correct, Netflix is already making early bids for the show's rights.

It's not clear at this point what negotiations are being made, but it seems likely that Netflix is making an attempt to fight back at Amazon with its new, as-yet unnamed Clarkson show by becoming the host of the well-known Top Gear brand. Netflix was long expected to nab Clarkson & Co., and was involved in talks, but was eventually outbid by Amazon.

Among the different ways we might see future Top Gear episodes on Netflix include the service becoming the exclusive home for streaming the show, or acting as another syndication partner for the BBC in other counties. The BBC's own iPlayer service lets viewers watch missed episodes of shows at any time as long as they aired within the last 30 days, so whatever deal Netflix arranges, it won't be getting Top Gear episodes the day after they're first broadcast.

Netflix already has several deals in place with the BBC, such as offering older seasons of Top Gear before Clarkson's departure, along with other hit shows in the UK. This means Netflix probably has a strong chance of landing new episodes. Let's just hope the show is somewhat close to how entertaining the previous version was.

SOURCE The Guardian