Matt Buckler: Fox News sweeps the May ratings period

Jun. 2—Different pony, same stable.

While Fox News Channel continues to have a stranglehold on the cable news rankings, there's a changing of the guard as far as the No. 1 show is concerned.

"The Five" took the No. 1 slot among overall viewers in May, moving ahead of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," which finished in second, and "Hannity," which wound up in third place.

Perhaps "The Five" has an advantage because it has five hosts — viewers are likely to find at least one of them that they'll like.

Rounding out the Top 5 are two other Fox News programs — "Jesse Watters Primetime" and "Special Report with Brett Baier," giving Fox a clean sweep of the Top 5.

The network was the No. 1 cable news network in May, averaging 2.27 million viewers, an increase of 4 percent over one year ago.

The other networks weren't as fortunate. MSNBC drew 1.02 million viewers, a decline of 32 percent from a year ago. One of the reasons for that slide, however, could be that Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's No. 1 attraction, cut her workload down to just one night per week and the ratings have suffered on the nights when she's not around.

CNN, meanwhile, fell 28 percent to an average of 660,000. Unloading Chris Cuomo in the 9 p.m. slot sure hasn't helped.

Fox also is No.1 in total day ratings, increasing its audience by 23 percent. With the mid-term elections coming up, the immediate future could even be brighter for Fox. After all, the front of the Nielsen chart is over-populated with Fox News Channel shows.

Sensational 'Saul'

"Better Call Saul" fans should be marking July 11 on their calendars — if they still own a calendar.

That's when the second half of the show's final season kicks off. And the folks at the AMC Network probably can't wait for that day to arrive,

Last week's Season 6, first-half finale drew 2.2 million viewers after three days of delayed viewing was added to the AMC total. The show also did blockbuster business on AMC Plus, giving the streaming services its best numbers ever.

"Better Call Saul" has been one of the most underrated series on television. It has never won an Emmy, but has put together six solid seasons.

Granted, "Better Call Saul" isn't in the same class as "Yellowstone" when it comes to ratings. If the viewership climbs in the final handful of episodes, however, maybe another prequel is in order.

Leader of the dance floor

On "Dancing with the Stars," most of the publicity goes to the celebrities and the judging panel. You never hear much about executive producers.

Conrad Green is the exception. He helped get the show off the ground in 2005, pitching the show to ABC. He stayed on board for 18 seasons, which were the most successful in the show's history.

So the announcement that he is negotiating to return to the show after leaving for Fox in 2015 is a big deal. According to a report in Deadline Hollywood, the judges were doing victory dances when they found out Green was returning. That's how popular he is among the show's crew.

Green is facing a tough challenge if he takes the job. After 30 seasons on ABC, the show moves to Disney Plus, a streaming channel, for the next two seasons.

It will be the first live show in the history of Disney Plus. The spotlight surrounding the show will be smaller. It will be interesting to see if Green can make the show relevant again.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.