As election season heats up, the three major television networks — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — are expected to rake in even more advertising cash than the last cycle, according to new data from Kagan, the media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Kagan’s forecast, which was first
reported by Variety, predicts that Fox News Channel will make $1.32 billion in advertising this year, while CNN will make $773.1 million and MSNBC $723.1 million. Each amount represents an increase from the previous year: up 7.9 percent for Fox, 11.7 percent for CNN and o.8 percent for MSNBC.
Compared with the last election year, ad revenue will have increased even more dramatically. In 2016, gross advertising revenue for Fox News amounted to $1.1 billion, according to additional data provided by Kagan to Mediaite. For CNN, advertising revenue in 2016 was $633.9 million, while for MSNBC it was $413.4 million.