World News for Students of English

05-08-2015 07:00

Guess who’s back! Former Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have signed a deal for a new motoring program with Amazon.

The presenters who left the BBC program after Clarkson was dropped over a fracas with the producer will return to our screens next year via the online video platform. Announcing the news on his Twitter page, James May said,” Good news! I’ve got a job with Amazon Video UK! Bad news, so have the other two.”

But the big question is will their fans follow them to Amazon Prime? At £79 a year or $99 in the US, the service is slightly more expensive than rival Netflix, which has recently enjoyed success with programs like “House of Cards”.  But for that price you do get more than just television. Amazon Prime also includes a music streaming service, next day delivery on Amazon shopping and cloud storage space.

One Twitter user said the new show will be the only reason people will use Amazon Instant Video. Another highly enthusiastic fan said this may be the greatest day ever! But some say while they’re happy to see the show return, they won’t be handing over the cash to watch it.

Either way, Amazon says the first show will go into production shortly and arrive exclusively on Amazon Prime in 2016.

Difficult words: former (-ex), fracas (an angry argument), announce (to say something officially), cloud storage (internet storage), enthusiastic (excited).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com