Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May to join ITV?
Broadcasting companies are in a race to sign up a new motoring show after Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May left Top Gear following the "Clarkson fracas" last March. Netflix, ITV and Hulu are making their bids.
The Top Gear trio, together with producer Andy Wilman, has been in negotiations with these broadcasting companies ever since they left the BBC's premier motoring show, which is now getting relaunched with Chris Evans as the main presenter.
The BBC sacked Clarkson, 55, for verbally and physically assaulting producer Oisin Tymon during a taping of a Top Gear Series 22 episode. From 1988 till his eviction, Jezza was a Top Gear co-presenter. He took a break from 1999 to 2002 when the show was relaunched with the addition of Hammond and May as co-presenters.
The Hamster and Captain Slow are rumored to have turned down a sizable offer from the BBC and opted not to renew their contracts with the company after their co-presenter was fired. Wilman joined the trio and chose to leave the show as well.
Among the three broadcasting platforms battling to sign the motoring show hosts, Netflix is rumored to have the largest offer. The on-demand streaming portal is making an aggressive European expansion and sees the trio's strong market draw as a good catalyst in extending the show's reach within Europe. Netflix currently has the streaming rights of Top Gear episodes from 2011 until the most recent ones.
Another company that pitched in its interest is Hulu, which holds streaming rights for episodes since the show's relaunch back in 2002. However, both streaming platforms are said to be trailing behind ITV in terms of negotiation advantages.
ITV is a commercial TV network that was launched in 1955. It is permitted to broadcast under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority in order to provide competition to the BBC. If the former Top Gear presenters plan to go head to head with Chris Evans in their former show, which rumors seem to support, ITV can be the perfect broadcasting network to do just that.
