Jeremy Clarkson’ row with a producer and BBC’s subsequent decision to cancel Top Gear while it investigates the matter resulted in a dreadful slump for the British television station.
Viewers abandoned BBC 2 en masse on Sunday when the channel aired a repeat of a Red Arrows documentary in place of Top Gear.
According to The Guardian, the documentary about the Royal Air Force aerobatics team managed to draw 1.3 million viewers, or a 5.7 percent share of the audience, compared to the five million who regularly watch the Top Gear show. Last week’s episode of Top Gear was reportedly seen by about 5.1 million viewers (19.4%).
Top Gear is by far the most popular show of BBC 2, while it’s also one of the most valuable properties of BBC Worldwide, bringing in an estimated £50 million (US$74.1 million or €70.1 million) in annual revenues. That’s a heck of a lot of money…
And to make matters worse, The Guardian reported that BBC now “faces a multimillion-pound bill over its decision to suspend Clarkson with foreign broadcasters eligible for compensation”, while it also runs the risk of having a rival TV station nab Clarkson and have him host a competing motoring show.
For now, we’ll leave you with a “Hitler Reacts to Jeremy Clarkson’s suspension” video that you can enjoy below.