• by Wayne Friedman , February 24, 2017

NBA programming continues to reap big advertising revenue rewards through the first half of the 2015-2016 season -- even against some declining ratings.

National TV advertising revenue for NBA programming is up 21% to $430.1 million across five networks -- TNT, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, and NBA TV -- according to iSpot.tv.

ESPN and ESPN2 have pulled in a collective $249.8 million so far, with TNT at $107.2 million; NBA TV, $22.9 million, and ABC, $49.1 million. This year’s NBA All Star Game on TNT was at $21 million.

Also, all networks will see more games overall this year, with 82 on ESPN, 64 on TNT,  and 19 on ABC.

TV ratings are generally down for regular season games. Entering the All-Star break. ESPN and TNT are each down 7% to 1.6 million viewers. Both networks faced heavy competition from the NFL and World Series. ABC is down 12% to 4.5 million viewers.

A year ago, national TV revenues were at $353.8 million -- TNT, $175.1 million; ESPN and ESPN, $131 million; ABC, $38.5 million; and NBA TV $9.2 million.

This year’s big ad spenders were State Farm, $14.9 million; NBA, $12.7 million; Verizon, $12.6 million; Taco Bell, $9.1 million; and MetroPCS, $8.4 million.