Something to do with using the BBC's licenses they have from their radio station(s) or something and that (effectively) does not include resale. Or something.
yeah, I know about season 10 but it's different than the airing episodes.
I genuinelythink they will made a LOT of money if they will ever release proper dvd maybe with all the cut stuff and some comments. I hope one day they will.
As has been stated elsewhere, we know the TG team and (presumably) by extension the BBC know we're clamoring for DVD releases. Hopefully someone's working on doing something about it.
Since no one's addressed this yet . . .
Part of the delay in getting series to DVD/iTunes/Zune release is music licensing. The BBC has--I believe; correct me if I'm wrong, please!--a blanket agreement with labels which allows them to use pretty much any music they want for a small blanket fee. That agreement does not extend to productions released outside the UK, which means that all sorts of legal hurdles can be cleared before they can go selling them around the globe.
actually i thought they covered enough of Top Gear with the Challenges and Adventure DVD's. Its not like the BBC is completely ignoring the situation and they pepper the market with just enough to keep interest. The thing is if you flood people with choice they're going to get bored of it and interest will begin to wane. They're doing the right thing by releasing the Challenges DVDs and the Adventure DVD's usually contain extended versions of those episodes. Its not like we're completely losing out here.
actually i thought they covered enough of Top Gear with the Challenges and Adventure DVD's. Its not like the BBC is completely ignoring the situation and they pepper the market with just enough to keep interest. The thing is if you flood people with choice they're going to get bored of it and interest will begin to wane. They're doing the right thing by releasing the Challenges DVDs and the Adventure DVD's usually contain extended versions of those episodes. Its not like we're completely losing out here.
Uncut episodes with original music = GREAT!
Uncut episodes with filler music = GOOD, depending on the music choices
Cut episodes with filler music (e.g., season 10 on DVD in the U.S.) = Not a chance I'll ever buy it
I bought the Vietnam special on my Xbox 360. Let me tell you, the boys referring to the Ameri-bike and "Born in the U.S.A." when all traces of that song were completely removed is something else. Riding up the Transfagarasan pass without Jimi Hendrix blaring in the background was also an iffy proposition.
An example where the filler music worked is the Polar Special BD. While different, it wasn't anywhere near as jarring as the examples above because the replacement music mostly fit.
How much can music possibly be to license anyway for DVD?
I recently bought 'Teachers' on DVD, which was a Channel 4 drama. Popular, but nowhere near as popular as Top Gear would be on DVD. Anyways 'Teachers' has a chart track in almost every scene break on every episode. Loads and loads more tracks than Top Gear use per episode, and more episodes per series. Yet all those tracks were released with no substitutions on the DVD.
How can it be so hard for Top Gear to leave the music untouched? Especially as i think the music plays a more important role in the show than most people would think.
The problem is that the BBC have their blanket agreement covers the whole of the BBC, not just Topgear, and so the beeb won't pay for just TG to have original music DVDs etc. Add to that that the amount you pay for each song (outside of the agreement) depends on duration of clip, popularity of song anddistribution of the production. Topgear's costs would be astronomical to sell it to other TV channels, on DVD and online all across the globe - It's Topgear's popularity that means the people can't have what they want, unfortunately.