How much does TG worth?

Nouvelle Chicane · June 13th, 2006, 07:17 AM

I've been a TG fan for over 3 years now and i've seen just about every episodes since then and i love the crazy stunts and experiments they've done... and some of them don't come cheap at all images/smilies/biggrin.gif

The most expensive stunt that i can remember was the test of the 747's Jet Thrust experiment where they drove a couple of remote controlled cars behind a 747 with the jets on full throttle in hope that they would flip, that must've cost heaps don't u think?

That's just one of many examples... makes me think how much does the show actually worth??? does anyone have any idea?

jensked · June 13th, 2006, 07:36 AM

Well they say they have got 250 million viewers worldwide. And the BBC is a huge organisation. My guess is they have got a shitload of money. I also think they get a lot for free. I heard the life of a motoring journalist is one of free trips paid by the car manufacturers.

Buba · June 13th, 2006, 07:45 AM

And still, I reckon that maybe the Bugatti thing was the most expensive, as long as you take the cost of post production into consideration. That was what, 9 days for a full team? Didn't Jezza say on topgear.com that it was the most expensive?

Yeah, I guess they got loads of money... And lots of good people.

frosty · June 13th, 2006, 07:52 AM

747 stunt shurely was paid by Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Blind_Io · June 13th, 2006, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buba

And still, I reckon that maybe the Bugatti thing was the most expensive, as long as you take the cost of post production into consideration. That was what, 9 days for a full team? Didn't Jezza say on topgear.com that it was the most expensive?

Yeah, I guess they got loads of money... And lots of good people.

And yet they still managed to run out of money one season.

Buba · June 13th, 2006, 08:30 AM

^ I take it that you were joking... images/smilies/wink.gif

vRS · June 13th, 2006, 04:21 PM

They must get a decent budget, think about some of the preperaton that goes into stunts and reviews, also the Buy a Car challenges, £30,000 for the Supercars one. Next thing i want to know is there wages

Peter3hg · June 13th, 2006, 04:24 PM

Im sure I read somewhere it has the largest budget of any BBC production.

No Boss · June 13th, 2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter3hg2

Im sure I read somewhere it has the largest budget of any BBC production.

Even though it is quite "uniquely funded" images/smilies/smile.gif

apack · June 13th, 2006, 08:42 PM

If you can call a guy and then have a Pagani Zonda F or a Bugatti Veyron the next day, you sure have alot of money! The Winter Olympic episode shows how much power the show has. I haven't heard of anyone else, who are allowed to race around a speedskating track in a Jag.

ryosuke · June 13th, 2006, 09:02 PM

the wintr olympics were surely expensive...renting all those sites must have cost a bit.

as for cost/value, i think one of the last episodes beats everything. they had one scene there in which a fighter jet goes over the track parralel to the car...the scene was half a second long and the only appearence of the jet. i mean bringing a apache for a whole test is allright, but a fighter jet only for half a second...thats typical over the top yet absolutely incredible top gear automotive pornography. images/smilies/wink.gif

triumph · June 13th, 2006, 09:40 PM

it's certainly expensive to run a show like that , but I don't mind , that's why it's such a great entertainment show .In fact this is the only show I would be ready to give money for....luckely for me all UK BBC viewers already do that very kindly(btw thanks images/smilies/tongue.gif

)

No Boss · June 13th, 2006, 10:12 PM

I wonder where the insurance is for a show like Top Gear. Like does Top Gear have it's own policy if somthing happens, or would the BBC cover?

Only reason I ask is because that would be quite a hefty amount of money.

teeb · June 13th, 2006, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apack

If you can call a guy and then have a Pagani Zonda F or a Bugatti Veyron the next day, you sure have alot of money!

They call up the Pagani or Bugatti PR person and get a 'test car' - they don't pay to hire it; as it's free PR for the company when it appears on screen.

Quote:

The Winter Olympic episode shows how much power the show has. I haven't heard of anyone else, who are allowed to race around a speedskating track in a Jag.

There's always a chance they never told Jaguar what they were going to use the XK for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by no boss

I wonder where the insurance is for a show like Top Gear. Like does Top Gear have it's own policy if somthing happens, or would the BBC cover?

Only reason I ask is because that would be quite a hefty amount of money.

I've no idea for Top Gear, but for evo magazine's Car Of The Year 2005 feature, they paid a £10,000 insurance excess. They had 8 road testers / photographers, were away in France for 4 days, and the following cars : Ford GT, TVR Sagaris, Lambo Gallardo SE, Ferrari F430, Porsche Cayman, Aston V8 Vantage, BMW M6, Merc SLK55, BMW M3 CS and Renault Clio 182 Trophy [!].

Weyhey for useless automotive trivia!

MrChom · June 14th, 2006, 02:49 PM

Just think about it.

The cars are free, the sets aren't too expensive them being just old cars and lighting rigs, Hamster and May aren't on exclusive contracts (So less money in wages for them than, say, Clarkson), and most of the stuff they use in the show is old junk (Caravans, £1000 cars etc) or real locations (Quarries, the sea, the Nurburgring). A lot of the pieces are about enthusiast stuff (The man who demolished his kitchen to get the car out, the remote control full size car etc) and that covers most of the show...

The two main real expenses are 1. the crew and 2. The editing facilities (Which being as this is the BBC are merely a notional value, as the BBC has already bought the equipment). This is why the pieces are normally filmed in one condensed chunk before the series proper (cutting down on the amount of time you need insurance for, the amount of time you need camera crews for and so on).

I doubt it's a cheap show compared to some things out there but it really must be when you consider how much the BBC licence it out to other countries for. The ratings here could go really low and the BBC wouldn't care any more so long as they got to sell it to other countries (They'd move it to BBC3 or 4 if ratings did drop).

Top Gear is great free advertising for any company, and the military stuff will probably be done for free because it gives a new situation for an army squad as well as showing the more fun side of "Our lads at the front" (The M.O.D. love to do this stuff, the more we think the army is about climbing everest, blowing up safes, and tracking down cars in a tank the better).

Think about it this way. Doctor Who tallies in at £1,000,000 an episode with 7m viewers. Top Gear gets around 5m viewers an episode making it the top watched BBC2 programme by almost 1m viewers.... I reckon the BBC would be up for speding at least £800,000 an episode on TG.

Peter3hg · June 14th, 2006, 03:32 PM

As us Brits pay the license fee they can't hide the budget if we ask them. I have looked throught the Annual Report but they only have budgets for types of programmes, not specific programmes.

nomix · June 23rd, 2006, 03:05 PM

How many car shows can there be on BBC? images/smilies/tongue.gif

But yeah, it must be expensive.

And thinking of the Olympic Episode, we are talking about Norway. I guess we have the most car hostile laws this side of Switzerland! And getting permit to blow a Mini down the Skijump at Holmenkollen, that must have taken A LOT of lobbying and quite a lot of money.. images/smilies/smile.gif

DaHitch · June 23rd, 2006, 03:26 PM

Every time they use an aerial shot, that costs shitloads of money.
I mean, 1 hour of flying can easily cost up to €1000. (incl chopper & pilot)
The Bugatti challenge; renting 2 planes (one for May & Hammond and one to follow them around) for the entire day, not what you'd call cheap :]

Topher · June 24th, 2006, 02:50 AM

I dont think they would of rented a helicopter. Come on its the bbc they probably have one just for filming in. Probably the pilot would get paid out of the BBC budget not from top gear.

Like network stations in australia all have helicopter, but im sure they get used for lots and lots of things more than just filming. I dont know about you but if i was going to be using a helicopter that much and i was a huge company. Id just buy one work out being way cheaper.

If we are talking about a private jet then sure u could lease it but i dont see why they would be paying $1000 an hour. I really think they owuld just own the helicopter (or the bbc would) and hire a pilot (might also just work for the bbc)

Still yes i think it would be like $700 000-1 000 000 each episode, of course dpending on the episode but meh, they work just like a business so no doubt they would be getting more money out of it than what they are putting into it.

June 13th, 2006, 07:17 AM	#1
Nouvelle Chicane Joined: Oct 13th, 2005 Last Online: November 18th, 2008 Location: Middle Earth Posts: 30 Rep Power: 0	How much does TG worth? I've been a TG fan for over 3 years now and i've seen just about every episodes since then and i love the crazy stunts and experiments they've done... and some of them don't come cheap at all The most expensive stunt that i can remember was the test of the 747's Jet Thrust experiment where they drove a couple of remote controlled cars behind a 747 with the jets on full throttle in hope that they would flip, that must've cost heaps don't u think? That's just one of many examples... makes me think how much does the show actually worth??? does anyone have any idea? __________________

June 13th, 2006, 07:36 AM	#2
jensked Joined: Mar 31st, 2005 Last Online: 10:59 AM Location: Flanders, Belgium Age: 25 Posts: 3,972 Car: RIP Opel Astra -> 2006 Toyota Corolla Wagon Rep Power: 40	Well they say they have got 250 million viewers worldwide. And the BBC is a huge organisation. My guess is they have got a shitload of money. I also think they get a lot for free. I heard the life of a motoring journalist is one of free trips paid by the car manufacturers. __________________

June 13th, 2006, 07:45 AM	#3
Buba Wants Rick Astley's Babies Joined: Nov 12th, 2004 Last Online: 06:38 PM Location: Regensburg, Bavaria Age: 27 Posts: 5,993 Car: Golf LFS Status: Rep Power: 38	And still, I reckon that maybe the Bugatti thing was the most expensive, as long as you take the cost of post production into consideration. That was what, 9 days for a full team? Didn't Jezza say on topgear.com that it was the most expensive? Yeah, I guess they got loads of money... And lots of good people. __________________ [18:11] MXM: it means buba is better than you now [18:12] sam-l: In what way? [18:12] Slycer: longer penis

June 13th, 2006, 08:30 AM	#6
Buba Wants Rick Astley's Babies Joined: Nov 12th, 2004 Last Online: 06:38 PM Location: Regensburg, Bavaria Age: 27 Posts: 5,993 Car: Golf LFS Status: Rep Power: 38	^ I take it that you were joking... __________________ [18:11] MXM: it means buba is better than you now [18:12] sam-l: In what way? [18:12] Slycer: longer penis

June 13th, 2006, 04:24 PM	#8
Peter3hg Joined: May 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 06:27 PM Location: Chunk Steamer Age: 19 Posts: 3,747 Car: 2006 Yamaha Fazer LFS Status: Rep Power: 30	Im sure I read somewhere it has the largest budget of any BBC production. __________________

June 13th, 2006, 07:52 AM	#4
frosty Joined: May 9th, 2006 Last Online: December 24th, 2007 Posts: 17 Rep Power: 0	747 stunt shurely was paid by Virgin Atlantic Airlines

June 13th, 2006, 04:21 PM	#7
vRS Joined: Nov 22nd, 2004 Last Online: Yesterday Location: Stirling, Scotland Age: 17 Posts: 1,534 Rep Power: 25	They must get a decent budget, think about some of the preperaton that goes into stunts and reviews, also the Buy a Car challenges, £30,000 for the Supercars one. Next thing i want to know is there wages

June 13th, 2006, 08:42 PM	#10
apack Joined: Dec 18th, 2005 Last Online: 04:32 PM Location: Denmark Age: 22 Posts: 142 Car: Mk2 VW Golf GT Rep Power: 0	If you can call a guy and then have a Pagani Zonda F or a Bugatti Veyron the next day, you sure have alot of money! The Winter Olympic episode shows how much power the show has. I haven't heard of anyone else, who are allowed to race around a speedskating track in a Jag. __________________

June 13th, 2006, 09:02 PM	#11
ryosuke Joined: Jul 28th, 2005 Last Online: November 15th, 2008 Location: franconofurd, germsmany Age: 23 Posts: 1,618 Car: FZ50 GTR Rep Power: 15	the wintr olympics were surely expensive...renting all those sites must have cost a bit. as for cost/value, i think one of the last episodes beats everything. they had one scene there in which a fighter jet goes over the track parralel to the car...the scene was half a second long and the only appearence of the jet. i mean bringing a apache for a whole test is allright, but a fighter jet only for half a second...thats typical over the top yet absolutely incredible top gear automotive pornography. __________________ Goddo supiido yuu! Burakku emparaa

June 13th, 2006, 09:40 PM	#12
triumph Joined: Apr 6th, 2006 Last Online: November 14th, 2008 Location: Germany (Tübingen near Stuttgart!!!) Posts: 466 Car: fiat barchetta Rep Power: 0	it's certainly expensive to run a show like that , but I don't mind , that's why it's such a great entertainment show .In fact this is the only show I would be ready to give money for....luckely for me all UK BBC viewers already do that very kindly(btw thanks ) __________________ There are two ways a truly civilised and advanced nation can be defined. One, it has a fleet of nuclear submarines, and two, it does not have the death penalty. That leaves you with France and Britain. And that’s about right. J. Clarkson My Perfect car would have 1 the italian beauty,2 the british style,3 the french originality 4 the japanese reliability 5 the german technology and 6 the price of a chinese car

June 13th, 2006, 10:12 PM	#13
No Boss Neener, neener, I banned your title! Joined: Oct 8th, 2005 Last Online: 03:49 PM Location: 'mericuh, someday the UK. Age: 23 Posts: 6,618 Car: 2005 Volvo S60 R Rep Power: 68	I wonder where the insurance is for a show like Top Gear. Like does Top Gear have it's own policy if somthing happens, or would the BBC cover? Only reason I ask is because that would be quite a hefty amount of money. __________________ Changed the avatar, but Blaro , JacobFox and No Boss - still RickRolling since 1988.

June 14th, 2006, 02:49 PM	#15
MrChom Joined: Jun 14th, 2006 Last Online: June 22nd, 2006 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Just think about it. The cars are free, the sets aren't too expensive them being just old cars and lighting rigs, Hamster and May aren't on exclusive contracts (So less money in wages for them than, say, Clarkson), and most of the stuff they use in the show is old junk (Caravans, £1000 cars etc) or real locations (Quarries, the sea, the Nurburgring). A lot of the pieces are about enthusiast stuff (The man who demolished his kitchen to get the car out, the remote control full size car etc) and that covers most of the show... The two main real expenses are 1. the crew and 2. The editing facilities (Which being as this is the BBC are merely a notional value, as the BBC has already bought the equipment). This is why the pieces are normally filmed in one condensed chunk before the series proper (cutting down on the amount of time you need insurance for, the amount of time you need camera crews for and so on). I doubt it's a cheap show compared to some things out there but it really must be when you consider how much the BBC licence it out to other countries for. The ratings here could go really low and the BBC wouldn't care any more so long as they got to sell it to other countries (They'd move it to BBC3 or 4 if ratings did drop). Top Gear is great free advertising for any company, and the military stuff will probably be done for free because it gives a new situation for an army squad as well as showing the more fun side of "Our lads at the front" (The M.O.D. love to do this stuff, the more we think the army is about climbing everest, blowing up safes, and tracking down cars in a tank the better). Think about it this way. Doctor Who tallies in at £1,000,000 an episode with 7m viewers. Top Gear gets around 5m viewers an episode making it the top watched BBC2 programme by almost 1m viewers.... I reckon the BBC would be up for speding at least £800,000 an episode on TG.

June 14th, 2006, 03:32 PM	#16
Peter3hg Joined: May 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 06:27 PM Location: Chunk Steamer Age: 19 Posts: 3,747 Car: 2006 Yamaha Fazer LFS Status: Rep Power: 30	As us Brits pay the license fee they can't hide the budget if we ask them. I have looked throught the Annual Report but they only have budgets for types of programmes, not specific programmes. __________________

June 23rd, 2006, 03:05 PM	#17
nomix True Viking Joined: May 26th, 2005 Last Online: 08:04 PM Location: Norway Posts: 2,835 Rep Power: 19	How many car shows can there be on BBC? But yeah, it must be expensive. And thinking of the Olympic Episode, we are talking about Norway. I guess we have the most car hostile laws this side of Switzerland! And getting permit to blow a Mini down the Skijump at Holmenkollen, that must have taken A LOT of lobbying and quite a lot of money.. __________________ "If you're not getting the picture you want, you're not close enough" - Robert Capa "Your first 14000 pictures are your worst" - HCB - David Bailey! Who's he?!

June 23rd, 2006, 03:26 PM	#18
DaHitch Joined: Jun 19th, 2006 Last Online: 09:47 PM Location: Ghent - Belgium Age: 25 Posts: 41 Car: Volvo C30 2.0D Momentum Rep Power: 10	Every time they use an aerial shot, that costs shitloads of money. I mean, 1 hour of flying can easily cost up to €1000. (incl chopper & pilot) The Bugatti challenge; renting 2 planes (one for May & Hammond and one to follow them around) for the entire day, not what you'd call cheap :] __________________ I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out. I reject your reality and substitute my own! Why is Denis Leary a star while Bill Hicks is unknown? Because there's no cure for cancer.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

June 24th, 2006, 02:50 AM	#19
Topher Joined: Feb 3rd, 2006 Last Online: June 1st, 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia Age: 21 Posts: 225 Rep Power: 0	I dont think they would of rented a helicopter. Come on its the bbc they probably have one just for filming in. Probably the pilot would get paid out of the BBC budget not from top gear. Like network stations in australia all have helicopter, but im sure they get used for lots and lots of things more than just filming. I dont know about you but if i was going to be using a helicopter that much and i was a huge company. Id just buy one work out being way cheaper. If we are talking about a private jet then sure u could lease it but i dont see why they would be paying $1000 an hour. I really think they owuld just own the helicopter (or the bbc would) and hire a pilot (might also just work for the bbc) Still yes i think it would be like $700 000-1 000 000 each episode, of course dpending on the episode but meh, they work just like a business so no doubt they would be getting more money out of it than what they are putting into it. __________________ I would happily exchange the following body parts (all or just some) in return for an 2007 Audi RS4 B7 1x Soul, Liver, 1x Kidney,1x Lung, 1x Testicle and other body part which doesn't directly impair my driving ability