Grand Tour

Amazon have announced that the first episode of Clarkson, May and Hammond's new programme The Grand Tour will be available on Amazon Prime from 18th November. There's a few images in this BBC article which gives some clues as to the look of the programme. I'd actually not twigged until now that G rand T our has Top Gear's initials reversed - the design for the logo has a clear nod to the past!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37382427

I love in the cinematography in this teaser. It looks absolutely terrific.

The Grand Tour may end up on linear TV after debuting on Amazon Video.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeremy-clarkson-img-grand-tour-air-tv-2016-9

I always assumed it would, the ratings on linear TV will far outweigh those who watch non-linearly

I'm surprised Amazon would let that happen, unless it's not for quite a while after they're initially made available. Surely one of their main motives of picking the show up was to get people to subscribe to Prime.

It's worth noting that Ripper Street since was picked up by Amazon Prime after series 2, and since then series have premièred on Amazon Prime before being shown on the BBC a month or so later.


I think with all the press (and public?) interest surrounding Grand Tour it's quite likely the series will appear on linear TV, a month or so after premièring on Amazon Prime. The revenue gained from a deal with linear TV would probably outweigh any loss in Prime membership. I wonder if (UKTV) Dave is also considering a bid, considering it's (endless) screenings of Top Gear.

Perhaps it'll happen shortly before series 2 debuts, give it another boost.

Wasn't it the case with that show that the BBC axed Ripper Street, and then Prime picked it up and did a deal with the BBC whereby Amazon would have first-run rights for Prime, then the BBC showing 'repeats'? It wasn't a Bake-Off or Black Mirror situation.

Yes I would have thought they'd wring as much as they can out of it first. And I can't imagine Clarkson would be keen on going from 100's of millions of viewers to a fraction of that

The article states Amazon can decide if they want to or not, doesn't say anything about them actually doing a deal though. I can't see them doing anything for a good while if ever. Prime is a long way behind Netflix, and a huge show like this could be a huge boost for them. If people considering signing up then find out the show will air on ITV or some other channel the year after they won't bother signing up.

I really thought Amazon would 'give away' the first episode free via Amazon Prime and other streaming sites - just to try and lure those undecided to see that it's basically Top Gear minus the topical references and car review reports.
But obviously not - so will be a real test of how good Amazon's DRM via Prime really is.

I won't be surprised that it ends up on torrents and Kodi third-party addons overnight after it's uploaded to Amazon Video. I've seen other Amazon (and Netflix) exclusives end up on there.