That eye watering budget has been put to good use on exotic locations and extravagant gadgets. Assuming an average show budget of $3.05 million an episode, that works out to over $36 million for the seasons, or some $109.8 million across the three promised seasons. Wilman, who is also the executive producer of The Grand Tour, has said the new show's production costs range between $1.2 million ( £1 million) to $4.9 million (£4 million) an episode. When Clarkson helmed the show at the BBC, it boasted a budget of some $556,000 (£450,000) an episode. Of the production budget, Clarkson won't reveal exact amounts: "It's not that much bigger than it was at the BBC, it's just we have to waste less of it on health and safety," he explained. Clarkson refuted the figure and said, "it's all made-up nonsense." But it's likely his take-home is now in the seven figures, FORBES estimates. According to reports, his salary was set to jump to $12.3 million ( £10 million) on The Grand Tour, which would place him along the highest-paid show hosts. Its Top Gear magazine touts some 1.7 million subscribers.Ĭlarkson was BBC's highest-paid star, earning some $891,000 for his services in 2014 alone.
Along with executive producer Andy Wilman, h e devised Top Gear's one-hour format and helped ran all 22 series of Top Gear between 20, when it became the world's most widely-watched factual TV program seen in 212 territories. The firing followed Clarkson's suspension after a "fracas" in which he was reported to have punched producer Oisin Tymon over post-wrap dining arrangements, according to The Telegraph.Ĭlarkson hosted Top Gear since 1988, bringing on co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond. The longtime host was let go in 2015 for an "unprovoked physical and verbal attack" on a producer, the BBC stated. Many Americans also watched the Clarkson-led show on BBC America, where Top Gear regularly ranked among the cable channel’s highest-rated shows.
With Clarkson at the helm, Top Gear generated some $225 million in annual revenue for the broadcaster's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, according to Variety. You'd be forgiven for seeing sense in them. "There are lots of nonsense figures being batted around." "Obviously, slightly larger, but it's not $250 million," Clarkson rebutted, speaking in New York in November.