Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the former presenters of BBC motoring series "Top Gear," will star in a new online show for Amazon Prime customers.
The Evening Standard reports that the trio have signed up for a show that will premiere online next year.
The Wall Street Journal is also reporting on the new series, and says that Amazon has won the global rights for the show, and is able to license the content to TV networks around the world.
The presenters have reportedly signed a three-year deal with Amazon that will see them create three series of the show, starting in 2016. Amazon didn't announce a name for the new series.
Former "Top Gear" executive producer Andy Wilman is also on board with the new project. The producer, who has known Clarkson since they went to school together, left the BBC following Clarkson's departure. He will now manage the series, and is part of the new production company for the show, named "W. Chump & Sons Limited."
Clarkson left "Top Gear" earlier this year after reports of a "fracas" between him and producer Oisin Tymon. The presenter was accused of punching Tymon following a meal, and Clarkson subsequently left the show, along with his fellow presenters.
Rival streaming service Netflix had been touted as a possible home for the presenters following their departure from the BBC. However, it looks like the company was outbid by Amazon. A source close to the deal told The Wall Street Journal that "we’ve never seen a horse race like this," hinting that there was a bidding war for the series.
Amazon Studios is the division of Amazon which creates online shows for subscribers to the site's Amazon Prime subscription service. CEO Jeff Bezos explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month that the company is searching for TV shows that will become people's favourite:
One way you can think about TV is you can say, 'I want to make something that millions and millions of people are going to watch.' If that's your starting point, you paint yourself into a corner and you often end up with homogenized, uninteresting content. If you say, 'Let's hire the world's greatest storytellers. Let's encourage them to take risks,' then you're going to end up with a remarkable story, and remarkable stories always find an audience.
Amazon's video subscription service is far more popular in the US, where it's catching up with Netflix for subscribers. But it's not as popular in the UK, as this chart from BARB shows:
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