Amazon says Ex Top Gear Hosts Are Expensive But Worth It

While the previous Top Gear hosts were expected to move from the BBC to a simple streaming service, Netflix was most likely the platform for them to be on. Therefore, the three hosts decided to go to Amazon Prime for a show premiering in 2016 came as quite a big surprise. Now, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has discussed the deal as part of a longer interview with The Telegraph. He says the production is “very, very, very expensive,” but worth it.

Jeff Bezos wouldn’t say whether he has met Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May yet, and he didn’t discuss details of their deal. “They’re worth a lot and they know it,” he said to The Telegraph. Amazon reportedly paid out $250 million to land the trio and producer Andy Wilman for three seasons of 12 episodes each.

While it’s not Amazon’s only venture outside of selling goods,  Jeff Bezos sees Prime as one of the company’s most important initiatives because regular customers are using the service. “We have a lot of things in the pipeline, which I think viewers in the UK and around the world are going to love. And I think Clarkson’s new show is going to be one of those,” he said.

The discussion about the Ex Top Gear hosts is only a small portion of the interview, but the whole thing is worth a reading. Bezos also talks about the future of using drones for deliveries and converses about his purchase of The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013. Check it out.