Former Top Gear trio tipped to drive Amazon’s entry into Australia

THERE’S a new TV streaming service circling. And the tip is it will motor into town in time for Australians to catch the new incarnation of former motoring show Top Gear.

THERE’S a new TV streaming service circling. And the tip is it will motor into town in time for Australians to catch the new incarnation of former motoring show Top Gear.

In the driver’s seat is behemoth American e-commerce Amazon, which is tipped to be bringing its streaming service, Amazon Prime, to Australia as early as next month in time for the global launch of its new motoring series The Grand Tour starring former Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

While Amazon is staying silent on coming to Australia, sources tip that the Top Gear trio’s popularity with Australian viewers could pave the way for a ‘soft entry’ into the Australian streaming service market.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Amazon’s arrival is a matter of “when”, not “if” for Australian consumers.

Amazon Prime would be the latest shot in the Australian TV streaming wars, which claimed its first scalp recently when video-on-demand service Presto became its first casualty with the announcement it will shut down in January, and be rolled into Foxtel’s revamped Foxtel Play offering.

Netflix currently dominates the online streaming market in Australia. Stan has made inroads into the market share, and despite its size, the entry of Amazon Prime would initially be tough and not threaten Netflix’s place, according to TV commentator David Knox, who edits the TV Tonight website.

CARSGUIDE 8234m - Top Gear's three stooges. James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond

But the launch of The Grand Tour on November 18 — an Amazon original production for which May, Clarkson and Hammond have signed on for three years — would be the perfect time for Amazon to start making its presence felt, Knox said.

“Clarkson, Hammond and May have a significant following in Australia and I’m already detecting interest in people wanting to check out The Grand Tour,” Knox said.

“If it’s not available here as part of a global launch then we would expect some people resort to other methods to sample it.

“If Amazon Prime plans to launch here then The Grand Tour will attract the most buzz in the immediate future, so it is an ideal marketing opportunity.”

This could be so expensive… #TheGrandTour streams weekly on Amazon Prime Video beginning 18th of November. pic.twitter.com/SXUeCHwryq

— The Grand Tour (@thegrandtour) October 7, 2016

The show is yet to have an Australian broadcast or streaming platform.

If Amazon does enter into Australia, it will likely modelled along very similar platforms and pricing models to Netflix and Stan, and as both those offering have learned, success will as dependent on the exclusive content it offers as much as price.

Netflix’s original titles which include offerings such as Better Call Saul, Orange Is The New Black, House of Cards, Bloodline, Daredevil and Making a Murderer have been the key to its success. It’s a tough line-up to topple.

Amazon currently has some of its original contact — including the comedy Transparent,Mad Dogs and Mozart in the Jungle playing via Stan in Australia.

If Amazon enters the Australian market, viewers could expect to see, alongside The Grand Tour, edgy newsroom drama Good Girls Revolt, comedic-thriller series Patriot, starring Aussie actor Michael Dorman, and drama The Man in the High Castle about the US existing under Nazi rule.

Like Netflix and Stan, in the US and UK Amazon offers an extensive back catalogue of movies, but would be stymied in bringing some of its TV content to Australia — for example series such as The Good Wife, because of existing broadcast deals already in place here.

Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) with one of her dragons in a scene from Game of Thrones season 6, episode 9

“Amazon won’t dislodge Netflix from the top streaming spot because Amazon doesn’t have enough original content, and none of the word of mouth. Foxtel Play appears to be a viable proposition for those who don’t have Foxtel installed in the home as an economic way of seeing shows like Game of Thrones, but it needs HD at relaunch to show it is serious.” says Knox.

Netflix and Stan both cost about $10 a month, and Foxtel Play currently about $25 a month, and will be less than that when Presto closes and the revamp happens.

Foxtel Play will also make available the world’s most downloaded show, Game of Thrones, giving it massive firepower.

Amazon currently costs about $10 for access in the US and UK, and insiders tip it would be similarly priced in an Australian market.

“Having original content differentiates streaming services, something Stan has recognised over Presto. Amazon will need more titles likes its excellent drama The Man in the High Castle if it is to have a point of difference in the longer term,” Knox said.

And there are plenty of reasons for Amazon to join the streaming wars, and free-to-air commercial networks to ponder, if a recent TV Tonight poll is anything to go by.

It’s recent Audience Inventory survey revealed 49 per cent of respondents had a Netflix account, and 26 per cent a Stan account, with “too many ads” (49 per cent) and “not enough quality on free to air” (46 per cent) the big reasons viewers were opting for streaming.

Amazon has been approached for comment on its plans for Australia.

Michael Dorman in Patriot