Netflix has bagged Chris Evans' Top Gear show

Hear that? It's the sound of Netflix revving up its brand new motor.

Buzzfeed has word that the streaming giant has acquired the exclusive international streaming rights to the BBC's new series of Top Gear, helmed by Chris Evans.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos confirmed that the show will "fall under the same deals" of international distribution as the existing Top Gear rights it currently owns - but that it might not be shown in all nations Netflix currently has a footprint in.

"Worldwide I don’t know, as there are pockets of output deals that block all of those things," said Sarandos. "So we can only control worldwide on things that we can control outright, or things that we take on very early in their life. But multi-territory for sure."

While UK viewers will be able to watch the new series on BBC Two from May, international viewers will be able to catch the antics of Evans', Matt LeBlanc and... all those other presenters, via Netflix.  

In international terms, this puts the new series of Top Gear on a collision course with Amazon's motoring show, starring ex-Top Gear team Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, set to arrive this autumn.

Who knows - should Evans have a public scuffle midway through the new season, Netflix might buy the whole bloody lot? 

[Via: Buzzfeed]