#The grand tour views trial#
“It’s basically a shopping site with video thrown in … Once on Prime, subscribers get hooked on fast, free delivery and get Jeremy Clarkson thrown in on top.”Īmazon’s own research suggests that when a Prime customer watches its video content, they are more likely not only to start paying after the free trial period ends but also to renew their subscription at the end of the year.Īmazon spends millions on original, award-winning content such as The Grand Tour or Transparent because it is “additive” to the main business, which is making people buy things. Roger Parry, chairman of several marketing and media companies, said Amazon had by far the best business model of the relatively new entrants into the television market, such as Netflix. “One of the strengths of Amazon’s whole video access system is that once you’re there you’re one step away from buying something else,” said Harrington. This makes The Grand Tour a “loss leader” for Amazon Prime, the subscription model that offers advantages such as free 24-hour delivery as well as television content. Tom Harrington, at Enders Research, is one of several analysts to believe that achieving the same number of viewers is no longer what matters. Other analysts estimate that just 2 million of them are in the UK.
Do the maths.” He indicated that if just 1% of the previous audience signed up to Amazon Prime’s £79 annual subscription to watch the show, the broadcaster would recoup about £276m.Ĭonsumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated there were 63 million Prime members this July, up 19 million in a year. When a Clarkson-fronted BBC Top Gear made the Guinness Book of Records in 2013 it was watched by 350 million people in 212 territories.Īsked if Amazon could get a return on its investment, Clarkson said: “Yeah, they will. Was this an expensive show? You bet … But is it worth it? Yeah, it’s worth it.”
Since working with these guys I love it even more than the day we did it.
#The grand tour views tv#
In an interview with the Guardian, Amazon’s European TV boss, Jay Marine, said: “We look at these decisions with the data and I can tell you that we love this deal. With huge amounts spent on overseas travel for the first series, from Whitby to Lapland via California and South Africa, as well as two vast and complicated tents to film in, The Grand Tour underlines how television budgets are approaching those of movies.Īn opening sequence described as “spectacular” by Amazon insiders – featuring 6,000 extras in the Californian desert, according to some reports – is estimated to have cost £2.5m alone. At £4.5m an episode, the cost dwarfs the £650,000 or so spent by the BBC on each show.
Since the US online retailing giant announced its deal to produce a new show with the old BBC Top Gear team, the figures have bedazzled viewers and analysts alike. It comes as Amazon seeks to justify the £160m over three years it is estimated to have spent on The Grand Tour. The plans for an international expansion came as a surprise, as Amazon Prime is available in just 10 locations. The international rollout will bring The Grand Tour to almost as many territories as used to watch the BBC’s Top Gear programme fronted by the trio, including all the locations where Clarkson and the team have previously caused controversy, notably Argentina. The Grand Tour’s first episode, to be downloaded or streamed on Friday morning, will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers in the UK, US, Germany, Austria and Japan.
Viewers in 200 countries and territories will be to be able to watch The Grand Tour from December after Amazon announced plans to use Jeremy Clarkson’s new motoring show to expand its video service.Ĭlarkson and fellow presenters James May and Richard Hammond announced the expansion in a YouTube video on Wednesday, amid a marketing blitz that includes billboards, print, radio and television ads.