'Family Guy' future "debatable", says BBC Three controller

Family Guy's future on BBC Three is "debatable", according to the channel's controller Zai Bennett.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival today, Bennett told journalists that rights for the popular US animated comedy, which come to an end in two years' time, would not be renewed at "any price".

Family Guy is BBC Three's most highly-rated import, regularly topping a million viewers for new episodes and also commanding high audiences for its late-night repeats.

New BBC One and ex-BBC Three boss Danny Cohen praised the show's success in the UK at last year's festival.

"I'm really proud of what we've done with Family Guy. It wasn't a hit in the UK three years ago, but we really believed in it and put it on every night," he said. "I love it, it's brilliant, and we're lucky to have it."

BBC Three is likely to face competition for Family Guy's rights from Sky, which has already taken Glee from E4.

> Read Digital Spy's full coverage of Zai Bennett's BBC Three interview from today