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winteriscoming

It's like getting a foot in the door, which is a big thing in itself.

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Yes, in addition to the cash up front, imagine if Amazon can show an uptick in merchandise sales during/after the game:

"Your team just won with the winning play by $thisguy. Want to buy his jersey while you're here?"

Broadcast rights are just one of the places professional sports makes money.

It's more about giving people an extra reason to buy/keep a Prime subscription, similar to getting the Top Gear guys on board (Top Gear was the BBC's most syndicated show, and was massive all over the world, apart from the US). When you have the free shipping, you might buy that jersey at a later date. Amazon generates so much revenue that they can afford to take the long view with initiatives like this.

Is it just me, or is the amazon topgear absolutely unwatchable? It seems like a cheap ripoff and none of them seem remotely emotionally invested in it. Is it just the US market ruining car shows? Wheeler Dealers also comes to mind as having been ruined lately.

100% agree. it feels like its lost everything that made the show great. theres absolutely no illusion anymore that these guys are fixing or modding these cars themselves, they seem to have no investment in the cars (remember richards car Oliver that he actually bought and took home from the Botswana special?)

It barely seems like they are even interested in cars anymore, everything felt overrehearsed and written, even the little quippy jokes to each other felt like they were done multiple time for extra takes.

Im not sure what exactly made TopGear so special, but it seem to me that whatever it was has been lost. maybe the guys are just too old or too rich to put in the effort they used to.

I haven't seen it, so I can't comment. I've seen lots of people complaining about BBC's "new" Top Gear with the new presenters, apparently it's lost all it's character.

The best car show at the moment (IMO) is Mighty car mods on Youtube, a pair of Aussie lads who love Japanese cars. They're absolutely hilarious and actually are really knowledgeable about cars.

I enjoy Doug Demuro on youtube. He reviews cars like the trabant, and buys weird cars like the Nissan S-Cargo.

I certainly didn't find it unwatchable, but I agree with your sentiment. It's a little rough around the edges, especially with pacing and tone. It's kind of the uncanny valley of Top Gear. Something isn't quite right. That said, I still found most of the episodes entertaining, and there are a few great moments.

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