Amazon Raises The Stakes In Streaming Battle

The signing of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond could be just what Amazon needs to give it the edge over rival Netflix.

The deal has caused a big stir in the world of video streaming and, with Top Gear's huge global following, is likely to lead to thousands of fans signing up.

While Netflix is dedicated to video streaming, Amazon Prime is a wider service with a host of benefits and services, ranging from free next-day delivery on physical items from the Amazon online store to cloud photo storage and music streaming, alongside Prime Instant Video - its Netflix rival.

At the moment fellow US-based firm Netflix enjoys supremacy, with a recent survey finding that 63% of those with an Amazon Prime subscription still preferred to stream their video from Netflix.

At £79 a year, Amazon is more expensive than Netflix, which has plans from £5.99 a month. But the popularity of the three presenters gives Amazon an exclusive that Netflix cannot currently match, despite the success of its own original shows, including House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black.

Amazon also secured something of a coup in January when it signed up Woody Allen to do his first ever television series.

Although the Oscar-winner admitted: "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin," the show is due to air in 2016.

On Tuesday Amazon also took on Apple and Spotify by launching its own music streaming service .

Though we are still in the relatively early days of the video streaming era, the likes of Amazon and Netflix have already realised that original and exclusive programmes are the biggest draw for users.

This new motoring show could be the best proof so far.