UPDATE 2-Judge backs Univision in Televisa court case

* Televisa prohibited from streaming shows online in U.S.

* Univision is exploring options to provide shows online

* Televisa says it will appeal court decision

NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - Spanish language media company Univision Communications said on Friday a U.S. court ruled in its favor in an Internet rights litigation case with rival Grupo Televisa, which vowed to appeal the decision.

Los Angeles Federal Court Judge Philip Gutierrez's ruling prohibits Televisa (TLVACPO.MX) from broadcasting TV programs over the web in the United States that it has already licensed to Univision [UVN.UL].

A long-drawn-out lawsuit between the two companies had centered on how to interpret a clause in a 1992 license agreement that originally dealt with the spillover of Televisa's broadcast signal across the U.S.-Mexico border into Univision's licensed territory.

Televisa executives had argued that the 1992 contract did not contemplate Internet distribution, and subsequent amendments and technological advances allow it to transmit programming via satellite into the U.S. as long as it originates in Mexico.

As part of a "truce" over the issue, neither company offers the popular programming, including daily telenovelas, on U.S.-facing websites, but Televisa said the programs would continue to be widely pirated until the disputed contract expires in 2017 if viewers have no Internet option.

"It is wrong for Univision to characterize this decision as a victory, because is simply maintains the status quo," said a statement from the company.

"The only winners in this decision will be the Internet sites that illegally transmit Televisa programming," the statement said.

Univision, like many other U.S. broadcasters and cable companies, said it was exploring its legal options in order to provide content to its own audience over the Internet in the U.S. in the future.

But both Univision and Televisa have conceded that potential advertising revenue from Internet streaming of programs is not significant at this point.

However a PriceWaterhouseCoopers study shows that Internet advertising is expected to grow by double-digit percentages over the next four years to about $40 billion in U.S. markets. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke in New York and Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City; Editing by Alex Richardson)