Seth MacFarlane asked to host Oscars again next year

Despite sparking controversy at this year's Oscars, Seth MacFarlane has been asked to host the star-studded ceremony again.

Although the Ted star and director has been approached to host the 86th Academy Awards, he is unsure whether he can dedicate the same amount of time to a second stint. Last year he spent four months preparing for the role but his schedule this time round is packed.

The filmmaker is hard at work on his next big screen project, A Million Ways to Die in the West, which is expected to begin filming soon as is the pre-production on his sequel to 2012's smash hit comedy caper, Ted.

MacFarlane proved to be a controversial host when he presided over the Academy Awards in February and divided opinion with his humour - particularly with his "boob song" skit, which humorously noted actresses who have gone topless on screen.

However, viewership for this year's Oscars was up three per cent over the 2012 ceremony, with 40.3 million viewers watching in the US.

Meanwhile, it was announced last week that producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron - who produced the MacFarlane-fronted Oscars this year - will return for a second year.