New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's crackdown on daily fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings may have impacted the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets telecast on Thursday night, at least during commercial breaks.
The New York Post reported on Thursday that WCBS-TV, an affiliate of CBS which broadcasts in the New York metro area, would not air any daily fantasy sports commercials during the game.
"You can't run spots that were never scheduled to air," a spokesman for WCBS-TV told CNBC, explaining that neither DraftKings nor FanDuel has purchased local spots for the game and that the broadcast was a simulcast of the NFL Network.
FanDuel declined to comment about the broadcast.
A spokesman from DraftKings told CNBC, "We have good relations and are in good standing with all of our partner teams. We are always in dialogue with them, including now."
On Tuesday the New York attorney general's office served a cease-and-desist letter to DraftKings and FanDuel. The letter stipulated that the companies' business models constituted illegal gambling.
"The Attorney General's job is to enforce New York State law, and the law here is clear," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Online sports gambling sites are illegal in New York."
It was unclear if the decision to not air commercials was influenced by the attorney general's letter. The NFL did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
"As we said, this week was only the beginning of the legal process." FanDuel said in a statement. "We have a legal business that millions and millions of people love and we are entitled to due process and look forward to being heard in court."
DraftKing's also issued a statement.
"Today, we have taken decisive legal action to prevent a unilateral, misinformed and legally misguided attempt by the New York Attorney General to act as "judge, jury and executioner" for daily fantasy sports in New York," DraftKings said in a statement on Friday. "We are asking the New York Supreme Court to rule that the Attorney General's cease-and-desist letter is unconstitutional, an abuse of discretion, and simply wrong."
Disclosure: Comcast and NBC are investors in FanDuel.