• by Wayne Friedman , June 1, 2017

Three major cable news networks witnessed a sharp collective 19% gain from all revenue in 2016 -- the big presidential election year -- versus the previous year.

According to Pew Research Center analysis of SNL Kagan data, the combined revenue from CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC totaled $4.76 billion in 2016, compared to $3.99 billion in 2015.

The study also noted total advertising revenue for these three networks rose 34% to $1.95 billion from $1.45 billion for the year. Looking at the cable financial news networks, CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg had flat revenues at $383 million.

License fees for the three major cable news networks rose 10% to $2.69 billion from $2.44 billion. Financial news networks rose 8% to $757 million from $699 million.

Along with all of this, profits soared at Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC -- 34% higher to $2.77 billion in 2016.

The big presidential election year witnessed soaring viewership at the three networks as well --- gaining 55% over 2015 to average a combined average prime-time viewership of 4.76 million.

Daytime viewership also had big improvements -- up 36% to 2.72 million.