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‘The Grand Tour’: Amazon Offers Prime Discount For Yearly Membership Until Show’s Premiere Date

By Inquisitr Staff
Published on: 04:10 PST, Nov 15, 2016

The Grand Tour is set to premiere on Amazon’s video streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, on November 18, and Amazon is giving some customers an opportunity to sign up for Amazon Prime at a discounted rate. The offer arrives just in time to catch the premiere episode of the series, which stars James May, 53, Richard Hammond, 46, and Jeremy Clarkson, 56.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, calls The Grand Tour, a new motoring show presented by the three former BBC Top Gear hosts, “very, very, very expensive,” as reported by the Telegraph back in December of 2015. Bezos explained that he “goes weak at the knees when he meets another entrepreneur” and that the popular trio, who have hosted together since 2003, are “worth a lot, and they know it.”

According to Bezos, he was “very excited” to add The Grand Tour to the growing list of original programs distributed on Amazon through its instant video streaming service. But maybe not quite as excited as fans who were disheartened to see May, Hammond, and Clarkson all depart from BBC. Jeremy Clarkson’s contract was not renewed in 2015 following a verbal and physical altercation with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.

Amazon was, of course, banking on the chemistry between the three friends to bring in new Amazon Prime subscribers for The Grand Tour Prime-exclusive deal that was announced at the end of July 2015, only four months after Clarkson was fired from Top Gear. At that time, The Grand Tour didn’t even have a name, but May, Hammond, and Clarkson were just happy to have a job again.

Fans were ecstatic to hear that May, Hammond, and Clarkson would be back together again on the small screen hosting yet another automotive series, but many were disappointed to learn that The Grand Tour would not be on Netflix. While Amazon has more subscribers in the U.S. than Netflix, Netflix was ahead of Amazon in the U.K., as recently as March of this year, the Guardian reported. Netflix had at least 5 million U.K. subscribers, while Amazon Prime Video didn’t even have 2 million U.K. subscribers not even a year ago.

But Amazon is hoping to increase that number of U.K. streaming video subscribers by offering a discount on a yearly membership of Amazon Prime, with £20 off, but only until November 18, which coincides with the release date of The Grand Tour. Digital Spy reported on Tuesday that “huge fans” of James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond, who may not be “huge fans” of Amazon Prime, might want to take advantage of the new discounted annual membership of £59 in order to catch at least the first 12-part series of The Grand Tour.

So far, only 36 episodes of The Grand Tour are scheduled to be released, both in the U.S. and the U.K., over a three-year period on Amazon Prime Video, with one new episode airing weekly. According to Digital Spy, the discounted Amazon Prime membership for U.K. subscribers isn’t the only incentive to tune in to watch The Grand Tour, which was shot in ultra HD. Jeremy Clarkson has also reportedly promised not to swear, “even though he could if he wanted to.”

Several new teasers for The Grand Tour launch have been released on the Amazon Video YouTube channel, including the newest sneak peak, titled The Grand Tour: Close Shave, where Richard Hammond has a close call with a speeding sports car, saying it missed him “by that much.” The Grand Tour’s producer, Andy Wilman, says that Amazon will not disclose viewing figures, so popularity will have to be gauged via social media, specifically from Twitter, where @thegrandtour has nearly 300,000 followers.

Top Gear ratings have suffered since its relaunch with Series 23 back in March, without Hammond, Clarkson, and May, and the last episode of Series 23 couldn’t muster even 3 million viewers. In a new interview published on the Daily Mail ahead of Friday’s The Grand Tour launch, Richard Hammond says that “he’s confident” Top Gear fans will enjoy The Grand Tour. Hammond went on to joke that if The Grand Tour isn’t good, the trio fears being “torched” by the public.

“We’re not going to disappoint, because we can’t. We’ve got to make this good or they will come and torch us – and rightly so.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E80MNut4PX4

[Featured Image by Clemens Bilan/Getty Images]

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