Luring Jeremy Clarkson and co to Amazon has not been cheap, Jeff Bezos admits
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has admitted it was "very, very, very expensive" to bring Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-stars to his digitial television service.
The entrepreneur tied up a deal for Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond to front a Top Gear-style motoring show for Amazon Prime customers, and it has been claimed the total deal has a budget of £160m.
Clarkson's BBC contract was not renewed after he punched a member of the show's staff during a "fracas", prompting the Top Gear trio to seek new ventures.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph's business supplement, Mr Bezos said the three stars were "worth a lot of money and they know it".
He added: "I think we're in a golden age of television so if you go back in time even just five years, you couldn't get A-list talent to do TV serials, or if you could, it was a rare thing. But that's flipped completely."
[Ex-Top Gear trio are] worth a lot of money and they know it
<p>Amazon founder Jeff Bezos</p>
The new car show, which is as yet untitled, will be broadcast next year.
Work on the first season is expected to start in autumn, and the show will likely go head to head with the BBC’s new version of Top Gear, which is to be hosted by Chris Evans.
Additional reporting from the Press Association.
