'24' renewed for two more seasons

FOX has renewed 24 for a further two seasons, the Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday.

The news means that the real-time drama, which ends its fourth season this Monday, will remain on air until at least 2007.

The future of the show with FOX had been in question as producers attempted to seek a higher licence fee to cover increased production costs. There had been rumours that the lengthy negotiations would have allowed another network such as NBC to step in and steal the show away.

The fourth season premiered in January - four months later than usual - in order to air repeat-free and without pre-emption. The move appears to have paid off, with an average of 12 million viewers tuning in each week.