• by Wayne Friedman , November 18, 2015

A threat of a possible TV advertising slowdown from upstart fantasy sports companies could have material effect on around 10 TV networks.

This follows the decision from New York State Attorney General Eric  Schneiderman last week to classify daily fantasy sports companies as “gambling” operations, and then issue cease-and-desist notices.

Two of the biggest, DraftKings and FanDuel, have vowed to fight that decision. Reports suggest that both companies might consider slowing down their respective TV ad spend.

MoffettNathanson Research says nine TV networks are getting at least 4% of their total September TV advertising dollars from DraftKings and FanDuel. In addition, 13 networks have pulled in $1 million or more in TV advertising from DraftKings and FanDuel.

Major NFL TV networks -- Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN -- have pulled in the biggest TV ad revenues from daily fantasy sports companies, largely due to that programming’s high viewership.

Fox has tallied the most dollars from fantasy sports: $23.6 million in September. CBS and NBC are in a virtual tie, with $21.5 million and $21.3 million, respectively. ESPN comes in at $17.8 million. ESPN also garners the highest share of its September TV advertising ad dollars from fantasy sports -- 7%.

ABC, which has no NFL programming, tallied $6.5 million in fantasy sports TV advertising -- representing just 1% of its September advertising dollars.

After ABC come cable networks including: Spike, at $2.9 million, with a 5% share of its September TV advertising revenue; Comedy Central, at $2.6 million, with a 4% share; TNT, at $2.3 miliion, with a 2% share; and ESPN2, $2.1 million, with a 5% share.

MTV is at $1.9 million, with a 2% share; TBS at $1.43 million, with a 1% share; Discovery at $1.43 million, with a 2% share; and the NFL Network, at $1.3 million, with a 4% share.

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