UPDATE 1-Univision, Televisa trial date postponed to Oct 14

(Changes dateline from NEW YORK; adds details from paragraph 4)

MEXICO CITY, June 18 (Reuters) - A court battle between Mexican broadcaster Televisa and its partner Univision Communications has been postponed until Oct 14, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday.

The two companies have been sparring in court since 2005, when Televisa (TV.N) (TLVACPO.MX) filed a lawsuit demanding royalty payments it said Univision Communications had withheld as part of a programming deal that expires in 2017.

In late April, the two companies had requested a delay in the trial until July.

Analysts believe the postponements could mean the companies are making an effort to settle outside the courts.

The three-year-old legal fight began when Jerrold Perenchio, former CEO of Univision, made one of his lieutenants his successor, crushing Televisa's hopes of putting one of its own at the helm of the U.S. company.

Then, Televisa lost a bid for Univision against a group of investors led by media tycoon Haim Saban and the Mexican broadcaster sold its 11 percent stake in Univision.

Televisa wants more money from Univision for airing its shows in the United States, where there is a large, underserved Latino market that the Mexican media giant wants to tap.

Televisa declined comment on Wednesday. Univision was not immediately available. (Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York and Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City; editing by Carol Bishopric)