Secret Deal Means You Might Be Able To Watch The Grand Tour On Television

Old Top Gear.. er.. I mean The Grand Tour is finally coming to our streaming screens on November 18th, 2016, and will stay there for a healthy 36 episodes over the next three years. This is great for all Amazon Prime paying members, who regularly shell out about $99 per year for quick shipping and access to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, but it’s a major letdown to the many viewers who regularly get to watch the Boys for free (ignoring BBC licensing fees) on Top Gear.

Fear not, because there’s a possibility that you’ll be able to watch The Grand Tour on television, as part of a secret business deal brewing in the background with talent agency IMG. Business Insider reports:

The tech giant [Amazon] has so far been steadfast in its view that it has “no interest” in licensing the original series to network and cable TV companies.

But a British TV industry source tells Business Insider that Amazon has a secret arrangement place if the company changes its mind. A second source with knowledge of the agreement confirmed its existence.

As part of the deal Amazon made with Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and executive producer Andy Wilman last year, the company agreed to work with talent agency IMG to license so-called “second window rights” to the “The Grand Tour.”

The deal gives Amazon the right to choose if or when the show is made available on regular TV channels after it airs on Amazon Prime. It may also choose to never allow this to happen.

So it may not even happen at all, but the fact that there’s a window of opportunity written within the contract, the possibility of seeing the rambunctious trio on television is still very up in the air. One thing is for sure, they’re going to have to censor out a lot of the material for it to be family friendly.

Despite the Amazon executives’ message about The Grand Tour being strictly for Amazon Prime paying members, The Grand Tour’s producer Andy Wilman has gone on interview to cast doubt on that company message. He’d like it to be seen by “as many people as possible,” and that “The ‘Top Gear’s’ have got a good shelf-life … so I’m hoping this has got a shelf-life too.”

IMG could also theoretically help Amazon sell “The Grand Tour” in countries where Prime Video is not available. Prime Video has so far only launched in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan. “Top Gear” has proved that Clarkson, Hammond, and May have huge global appeal.

Whether or not The Grand Tour will end up on television doesn’t change the fact that you will need an Amazon Prime subscription to be the very first people to watch the program. If you haven’t subscribed yet you can do so by going here.

To see more of what we have to say about The Grand Tour you can click on our link here.

(Source: Business Insider)