Matt LeBlanc's new show starts in the US in the autumn

The network said it could not "reconcile the value" of the show with the price tag placed on it by the Warner Brothers studio.

The show sees the character Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) moving to Hollywood for his acting career.

The last epsisode of Friends attracted 8.6m viewers to Channel 4 in May.

'Exclusive period'

Channel 4 controller of acquisitions June Dromgoole said: "Channel 4 has understandably been linked with this series given the huge success we enjoyed with Friends and our long association with Warner Bros."

"We had an exclusive negotiating period and have been in talks with Warner Brothers," she added.

"But ultimately we could not reconcile the value which they placed on the show with our assessment of its audience potential, so we have decided not to take these discussions any further."

The series begins screening in the US in the autumn.

Friends, which ran for 10 years, became one of the biggest shows in US TV history.

In the US its finale, which saw the on-off relationship between regulars Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) finally resolved, drew an audience of 51.1 million.