In this case in point, they are nothing but an attempt to get a thread closed.
I am referring to the thread that is discussing the recent fox news emails the reveal that fox upper management knowingly pushed false election claims after the 2020 election.
The off-topic discussion of Fox's ratings is only pertinent when their context is that when they were rapidly falling after the 2020 election, fox pushed misinformation that helped caused our country to be tested in ways we were lucky to be able to survive.
The news channel did it for ratings. The primetime hosts put our country at risk for ratings. They gave a guy who claimed the election was rigged before it was held a platform to talk his bullshit. Of course he said the same thing in 2016, but since he won, it wasn't true. Because of the bull shit he and fox were pushing, he thought he was going to be able to stay in the White House. So he had to do a rush packing job. He ended up taking things he shouldn't have. Like all the classified documents (anybody who believes he declassified the documents before he took them is a recipient of a SO participation trophy).
In other words, he fucked himself.
Back to ratings.
After something like this, saying you have the highest ratings is like saying you have the largest turd in your pants.
Pointing out ratings as proof of quality in this case shows a lack of quality in the viewers and an unwillingness to address a major fuck up. I can't believe people are willing to give those assholes an hour or 2 out of their day.
I haven't heard or seen any indication that fox will attempt to keep from doing a repeat.
Now I have low expectations due to the ongoing litigation but the fact that we see the "Who, me?" concerns me. Trump knew he lost. He paid for an outside investigation that told him he lost. Barr told him he lost. His senior aides told him he lost. Congress told him he lost. America told him he lost.
But he still tried to enlist the aid of the deniers.
And now he is trying to run again. The only good thing about that is all the money he is stealing from his enablers.
So as far as ratings go, all they show is trumpys love an echo chamber. It shows that if fox won't tell them what they want to hear, newsmax will.
It also tells us what they are willing to do to get ratings.
It tells us a lot about the viewers.
Carlson kept them distracted while trump tried to steal America.
The 3.5 million viewers, which are a small percentage of the US population, prove that you can fool some people most of the time without consequences.
To be fair, I do watch "The Five" a couple of times a month.
Carlson is like the guy who got constant swirlies in the big locker room sink before being sent to class minus his spongebob briefs.