After a few weeks of speculation, online streaming service Netflix have confirmed they have bought the rights to show the new series of Top Gear. This should come as little surprise however, as Netflix have been showing episodes from the Clarkson, Hammond and May era and had a pre-existing agreement with the BBC.
This is to go head-to-head with Amazon Prime who will showing the new show which is still be named, fronted by Clarkson, Hammond May. Netflix will have certain rights to the programme in countries where the BBC do not currently have syndication deals. The actual terms of the agreement are not known at the moment but it is thought they will be similar to the terms that have been agreed in the past.
Things are still far from perfect in Top Gear land however, as the new trailer for the forthcoming season has not been received as well as they would have hoped. Although the trailer has had over 2.2million views on YouTube, just over 14,500 gave it a thumbs up, whereas 64,468 gave it a thumbs down. I think the new trailer looks good personally BUT, it doesn't look overly original and it just looks like they are trying to do exactly the same thing but with different hosts installed, as if we wouldn't notice.
On top of that, reports have come suggesting there is a strong rift between hosts Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, which has stemmed from the Cenotaph incident. According to a report from The Sun, Evans holds LeBlanc responsible for turning the Cenotaph shoot into a PR disaster. However, James May has previously suggested that Evans may be causing the speculation in a bid to gain extra viewers when the series returns next month.
Check out the trailer below - if you haven't already seen it - and see what you think. Will the new series be Top Gear or Flop Gear?