Netflix, ITV, Or Hulu: Who Will Win In Their Bid For ‘Top Gear’ Copycat Program?

Now that the final episode of BBC’s Top Gear featuring the original trio has aired, the battle is on for network services as they rush to win the bid for the rights to the hugely successful automotive series. The biggest contenders are Netflix and ITV, but Hulu is also a contender with them already owning the rights to Top Gear in several territories.

As well as this epic battle, the rights to a rival show to go up against Top Gear is also currently being played out. Jeremy Clarkson (who was famously fired from Top Gear earlier this year) and his co-hosts, Richard Hammond and James May – who refused to renew their contracts with BBC after Clarkson was fired – will also sign a deal with either Netflix, ITV, or Hulu to produce a competitive program to go up against Top Gear.

According to The Mirror, the original Top Gear trio along with longtime producer Andy Wilman, are excited about the chance to go up against the original program. For Clarkson, however, the rival show would be the perfect revenge against the network that fired him, and in particular, an unnamed executive from the network who likened him to Jimmy Savile, the BBC presenter who was caught up in a pedophilia scandal.

“The thought of making a show for the BBC’s main rival is very appealing for them. Jeremy was deeply hurt and angered by the briefing given by a mystery BBC ­executive which saw him linked with the name of Savile. Of course he’d like to take revenge for that slur.”

As well as creating this rival program, there are plans to run the new show at 8 p.m. on Sunday nights – the same time slot reserved for the revamped original version of Top Gear now headed by Chris Evans.

Clarkson, Hammond, and May have been in negotiations with Netflix, ITV, and Hulu for many weeks now, in an effort to get their new program up and running. Variety has reported that Netflix has offered a sizable contract that will run over multiple seasons. Netflix currently holds title rights to Top Gear dating back to 2011. Hulu also has streaming rights dating back to 2003, so they are just as likely as Netflix to be successful in their bid.

With Top Gear raking in £145 million revenue for BBC last year, Netflix, ITV, and Hulu are eager to get their hands on a slice of this particular pie.

Are you a fan of BBC’s Top Gear? Are you looking forward to the potential of having two similar shows on the air? Let us know by commenting below!

[Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images]