Luxembourg-based broadcaster CLT-Ufa has signed a five-year output deal with 20th Century Fox as part of an on-going strategy to consolidate its position in the German free TV market as a competitor to Leo Kirch's family of channels.

The deal secures CLT-Ufa rights to Fox features such as Anna And The King, The Beach, Me Myself And Irene and the live-action version of the X-Men comic strip.

The agreement will also cover all forthcoming TV product produced by 20th Century Fox including X-Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Ally McBeal and The Simpsons. Until now, X-Files and The Simpsons had been aired in Germany by the ProSieben Channel, which is majority owned by KirchMedia.

The deal, which joins CLT-Ufa's existing programming agreements with Buena Vista International Television and MCA/Universal, comes as CLT-Ufa finally signed contracts with News Corp on Jan 18 to take over News Corp's 49.9% stake in German free-TV channel Vox. CLT-Ufa plans to manage the Cologne-based station together with its flagship channel RTL.