Netflix & Amazon Cook Up Rival Deals For ‘The Great British Bake Off’

Netflix and Amazon may not have been able to cook up a deal to snap up The Great British Bake Off last year when it moved from the BBC to Channel 4 but the SVOD services are still fighting over the cake competition.

Netflix has secured the first seven seasons of the BBC show, which featured Mary Berry and Mel and Sue, to air in the UK, while Amazon has snapped up a lucrative sponsorship deal for the Channel 4 version of the show.

The original version of the Love Productions show, which airs in the U.S. as The Great American Baking Show on ABC, will launch on Netflix in the UK on Sunday March 31, just in time for an Easter binge, with classic moments including Iain Watters’ Baked Alaska Bingate scandal, Nadiya Hussein’s teary victory speech and Valerie Stones emotional exit.

Meanwhile, Amazon will sponsor the second season of the format on Channel 4. The first (or eighth, depending how you look at it) season, which featured original judge Paul Hollywood alongside Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig and Prue Leith, was sponsored by German baking firm Dr Oetker and golden syrup producer Lyle’s. Amazon will now take up the mantle, and is thought to be planning to promote its Echo speakers and Alexa virtual assistant during the ad breaks for the show.

Last year’s finale was watched by around 11M people in the UK, a massive ratings winner for Channel 4 and particularly popular amongst viewers aged 16-34. It is Amazon’s first major TV sponsorship deal since it sponsored ITV’s Downton Abbey.

“It’s a great testimony to the success of Bake Off’s debut on Channel 4 last year that Amazon will sponsor the Bake Off programme brands this year,” said Jonathan Lewis, the head of digital and partnership innovation at Channel 4.

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