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Gretchen Carlson's show ratings weren't as 'disappointing' as Roger Ailes claims
Carlson's take:
![Gretchen Carlson's show ratings weren't as 'disappointing' as Roger Ailes claims](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticbiassets.in%2Fthumb%2Fmsid-53106511%2Cwidth-700%2Cheight-525%2Cimgsize-1163760%2Fcarlsons-take.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Ailes' take:
![Ailes](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-53106512,width-700,height-525,imgsize-1197261/ailes-take.jpg)
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Ailes said Carlson's lawsuit was filed in retaliation for being fired by FNC for "disappointingly low ratings [that] were dragging down the afternoon lineup."
That's subjective and based on Ailes' and FNC's expectations. Any network, though, would be happy to see a new show improve on the previous ratings in its hour.
As for dragging down ratings for the afternoon lineup, "The Real Story" is the lowest-rated afternoon show on FNC, which speaks to Ailes' point of view.
At the same time, Carlson's suit alleges that the 2 p.m. hour is a challenging time slot. So if she's beating the other networks at the same time, then Carlson is making the best of a bad situation. For the quarter, "The Real Story" ranked No. 14 against all other cable news shows. Its closest 2 p.m. competition, "CNN Newsroom," is all the way down at No. 26.
Most networks would take the ratings increase over risking the chance on a new show that may not do as well.
So "The Real Story" is actually enjoying higher ratings year-over-year and generally winning the hour against the other news channels. That's pretty good news.
Verdict: True and false, but mostly false. Ailes may be disappointed with Carlson's numbers, but FNC should be quite pleased.
Winner?
![Winner?](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-53106513,width-700,height-525,imgsize-783585/winner.jpg)
Gretchen Carlson presents the more convincing case here. She had strong ratings for the time slot that had actually improved on the year before.
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