Channel 4 wins fight to broadcast Avengers spin-off Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.

The US superhero series directed by Joss Whedon was the subject of a fierce bidding war

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy, has directed the spin-off (Getty )

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a spin off from the hit film Avengers Assemble, will launch in the US on the ABC network on 24 September. After beating rivals Sky, Channel 4 will air the show soon after on this side of the pond.

Channel 4’s chief creative officer Jay Hunt expressed his excitement. “Like the Super Hero universe from which it has come, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is big, bold and absolutely exhilarating.”

"Featuring the production values you'd expect from Marvel and ABC Studios, this is family entertainment at its most exciting."

The series is directed by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who also wrote and directed Avengers Assemble from which the spin-off TV series originated.

The series will be the first live action TV series produced by Marvel, and will also be produced by ABC Studios and Whedon’s own production company, Mutant Enemy.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – the acronym standing for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division – follows a group of US secret agents as they investigate the appearance of super-humans on Earth.

Fans of the Avengers film will be keen to see the series as it will feature lead Agent Phil Coulson – who meets an unpleasant end in the original film but is mysteriously resurrected in the TV series.

Avengers Assemble was released in 2012, making $1.46 billion worldwide. Although a sequel is due for 2015, director Joss Whedon has stated that the series will be largely "autonomous" from the film.