RAJ27

Well today's "Winter Olympics special" seemed to be a costly programme i.e. the Suzuki Swift ice hockey challenge and possible damage caused to the Volvo and Audi. How much do you think each show in general costs?

Nevetas

Top Gear is sold on to many other TV stations around the world, helps cover some of the budget I guess.

SPEN555

Suzuki will have provided the cars FOC I would have thought, gives them good exposure. Same with all the cars, how do you think Clarkson got to drive the Bugatti? The BBC would not pay for that!

SC008Y

seems expensive having that hockey game, not really compared to a real fotball game. The cars go at under £8000 each for the game, how much does a pro fottie player get paid for a game. That would be like watching the X5 match

Tobisausage

If I was a car manufacturer and had the oportunity to supply 10 cars to have 10 minutes exposure on a prime time car programme you would be an absolute idiot to expect the BBC to pay for the cars.

You would have to pay more on a single 45 second advert.

Same goes for all the cars, lol damage to the audi's, its a press test car ffs it would cost audi next to nothing to supply them with. You actually think the BBC has to pay for repairs? Brilliant

Its marketing, not rocket science (no pun intended)

ShyTot

When they're spending their own money they buy old Minis!

The Zohan

Not far wrong there, not many manufactuerers will want to see their cars shot down a ski run under rocket power when they spend so much on marketing to specific groups.

Top Gear is sold to various UK stations as well as abroard and must be quite a revinue generator for the beeb.

Pretty much all test cars are supplied by the manufacturers and some specialist stuff by the owners.

skoobidude

Slightly off subject here but if somebody supplies their own car to a car magazine, such as Evo, how are the owners compensated for tyre wear etc? Or is it that the owners are just so generous!

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

they do it for exposure i think - bit of an ego trip for them to then post the pictures of it in forums like this

Tiggs

"possible damage caused to the Volvo and Audi"

i think there are more expensive parts of a TV show than buying a couple of cars!

jjones

like clarksons wages

dsmith

I bet the bar bill wasnt cheap

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

You also have to remember that the BBC dont pay for it, we all do through our TV licences - the producer obviously has a certain budget he is given for the whole series by the BBC, but most episodes of Top Gear probably cost next to nothing to produce.

I remember reading somewhere that an average TV prog like a 1 hour long episode of a drama costs between £1 and £1.5 million to make.

mightyyid

It's more PR than marketing, and the fact it is a TV programme means nothing different to any manufacturer supplying car(s) for a magazine article -that's why they have a press fleet. And I can also say that many press cars come back from journalists in far worse condition than they went out in, and frequently, far less potential for damage than Top Gear would do. I doubt Top Gear have ever bought a car in their life. Even the Ford GT that they tested was not Clarkson;s own one but a press car (and the sole UK press car at that) - his was the one in the studio but not the one on the track.