A U.S. district court has denied EchoStar Communications’ [Nasdaq: DISH] request for a preliminary injunction against Spanish language TV programming company TV Azteca. The injunction would haveprevented TV Azteca (Mexico City) from directly or indirectly distributing its Channel 13 network programming to U.S. cable and satellite operators.

Last June, EchoStar filed a lawsuit against TV Azteca in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that by distributing portions of its Channel 13 programming to the U.S. station affiliates of the Azteca America Network, which retransmit the programming on cable and satellite, the company was in breach of the exclusivity provisions of its agreement with EchoStar. The decision on the preliminary injunction does not affect the lawsuit itself.