Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear contract will not be renewed

[grumbler]

Yeah, I know, it's the Guardian, but it still seems legit:

Jeremy Clarkson's contract will not be renewed after the Top Gear presenter was involved in a 30-second physical assault on a producer, the BBC's internal inquiry will report on Wednesday.

BBC director general Tony Hall is understood to have come to the conclusion that he has "little alternative" but to end Clarkson's BBC career, 16 days after he was suspended following a "fracas" with a member of the Top Gear production team.

A BBC investigation led by BBC Scotland boss Ken MacQuarrie is thought to have found that Clarkson engaged Oisin Tymon in a 30-second physical assault after a 20-minute verbal tirade.

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Hall is a Top Gear fan and has previously stood by the presenter following a string of controversies, including an incident last year when he appeared to mumble the N-word in a Top Gear out-take.

The BBC also hugely values the audience that Clarkson and the BBC2 programme – regularly watched by more than 5 million viewers – brings to the BBC.

But a source close to the inquiry said: "There can't be one rule for talent and one rule for ordinary human beings."

Following the findings of the MacQuarrie inquiry, and the fact that Clarkson was put on a final warning after the N-word controversy last year, a source said Hall had "little alternative" but to let Clarkson go.

Clarkson's contract with the BBC was due to expire at the end of of March.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/25/jeremy-clarkson-top-gear-contract-bbc

Clarkson may be a brilliant presenter, but clearly isn't the kind of person you want hanging round your organization.  There's rumors that Netflix may want to re-create the show, but I can't see that lasting very long.  Clarkson should probably take some time off and consider what success has done to his ego.

[Brezel]

This likely means both May and Hammond also will quit. That's the end of Top Gear then.

[Sheilbh]

I imagine him and the others will be picked up by Sky. Evans seems a solid choice.

[DGuller]

This likely means both May and Hammond also will quit. That's the end of Top Gear then.

We can only hope.

[Gups]

Wonder how much they will be restricted in terms of format as BBC own the rights to Top Gear

[grumbler]

Wonder how much they will be restricted in terms of format as BBC own the rights to Top Gear

They own the rights to the name, but how could they own any rights to a "format?"

[Martinus]

Yeah, it's not like a "rude guy talking shit about cars" is something you can copyright.

[mongers]

Yeah, it's not like a "rude guy talking shit about cars" is something you can copyright.

If it is, he could easily go with a "shit guy talking about rude cars" format.

[Gups]

Wonder how much they will be restricted in terms of format as BBC own the rights to Top Gear

They own the rights to the name, but how could they own any rights to a "format?"

Of course,, it's possible to won the rights to a format if it's sufficiently distinctive. Otherwise, shows like Big Brother, X Country's Got Talent or Who Wants to be a Millionaire could never get international sales. Here's part of an analysis by some lawyers

http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2015/03/13/life-after-top-gear-road-ahead-jeremy-clarkson-and-bbc

So who owns Top Gear? In 2008, a grateful BBC rewarded Clarkson by giving him 30 per cent of the series through a joint venture company, Bedder 6 Limited.  Long-time producer Andy Wilman got 20 per cent at the same time with the remainder held by BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial wing.

However, in 2012, embarrassed by the hefty dividends that Clarkson was reaping, the BBC bought them both out, with Clarkson netting £8.4m for his stake. This can only be seen as a good move by the BBC as its ability to fire Clarkson would be considerably constrained if he still owned 30 per cent of the series.

So, while for many members of the audience Jeremy Clarkson is Top Gear, in law the format and brand are owned by the BBC.

However, TV formats are difficult to protect in law, as 1970s TV presenter Hughie Green found out when he accused TV stations of ripping off his Opportunity Knocks talent show. The courts threw out his claims, saying that copyright cannot protect the format of a talent show as it was not sufficiently original.   

Since then, the law has moved on a bit and it is likely that original elements of Top Gear, such as a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, could be protected. While neither the BBC nor anyone else can own the motoring programme format, any rival programme on another channel would have to take care not to replicate the most original and distinctive elements of the Top Gear format.

The BBC also owns an extensive suite of trademarks over the Top Gear brand, including the Top Gear name and logos  and covering uses ranging from broadcasting, television and publishing to "preparations for the hair" and soap. So sorry, Jeremy, the Top Gear hair tonic will just have to stay on hold.

All is not lost for Clarkson, however. He is likely to have producers and broadcasters lining up with offers – and while the BBC may own the rights to Top Gear they do not own rights in Clarkson's own image and neither will they be able to prevent him from continuing his career as a professional television presenter and journalist.

Indeed, subject to their respective contracts, there is nothing to stop Clarkson, May and Hammond simply going to a new channel and starting a new show, with a different format and branding.

Sadly for disappointed fans, they will not have any legal recourse if the BBC decides to scrap the remaining episodes of the series, although it is likely they will face claims from some of the hundreds of TV stations to whom the series is sold.

[lustindarkness]

[grumbler]

Yeah, it is almost impossible to hold the rights to a format.  Big Brother is just a modification of Survivor, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire is just one of many variants on the standard quiz show.  If one could copyright a format, there'd be about 12 shows, total, on the air.  All of the skit names 9as well as the show name) are copyrighted, of course.

A non-BBC version of Top Gear wouldn't use any of the names of the Top Gear skits and stunts, but could otherwise have a very similar show.  I'd think they would emphasize the stars, though, just as BBC does, rather than any particular format.  They'd want to do a car show for the advertising, but I don't think that it being a car show would be an essential element of its success.

[Norgy]

To be honest, I think this is kind of sad.
Clarkson may be a bumbling buffoon at times, but for once I think the PC-brigade is well in the wrong.

I have kind of lost interest in Top Gear, but I do love their challenges and long trips. The one from South America was brilliant.

[Liep]

I don't think it's PC that gets you fired when you're violent against a fellow employee.

[Norgy]

I think that was just the final drop. Clarkson's been on probation for years. He suffers from chronic foot-in-mouth disease.

And look at him. How hard could it be (to use a phrase he perfected) to defend yourself against him?

[frunk]

I think that was just the final drop. Clarkson's been on probation for years. He suffers from chronic foot-in-mouth disease.

And look at him. How hard could it be (to use a phrase he perfected) to defend yourself against him?

So I'm allowed to be abusive and physically confrontational as I want as long as I'm in lousy shape?