Their hand was forced. Clarkson punched someone. They can’t just countenance physical violence because it’s a successful show. That would have had serious ramifications (rightfully so).
For all intents and purposes: Clarkson left. He gambled, and won. But it was a gambit, and I doubt Amazon execs will be keen on taking hits themselves. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some circumspect wording in the contracts related to covering exactly that case :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/top-gear-2017-ratings-...
[Edit - this is for the 2017 series]
It really does show as well. Some scenes in season one and two could never have been shown on the BBC.
Seems very, very unlikely that Amazon would be canceling a show with those circumstances.
I could see the crew deciding to retire/stop doing the show, but I can't see Amazon canceling it.
I used to be a big TG fan but didn't even finish this season. A lot of my friends used to be TG fans, and they've also quit watching.
It's not too hard to believe that the C/H/M formula has run its course for a lot more people than just my small sphere of friends.
BBC handed Amazon a win on a silver platter. They didn't need a writer, they didn't need a producer, they just bought the ones that BBC threw out. How did Netflix miss on Andy Wilman and Jeremy Clarkson?