The honest to god truth is: we don’t really know. Picardo’s statement is a supposition. Just as yours is. We can assume it’s ratings but we have no metrics because it never made the top 10. We also don’t know what Paramount (regardless of ownership) had its metrics based on. If you can point me to actual viewership numbers (not Rick from Red Letter Media’s bullshit 400k viewer claim from an “inside source” and not the YT posting), I’d be glad to be proven wrong. In the meantime, it would not surprise me if (1) ratings were lower than Paramount would like them to be and (2) it was a move to clear the board so new Paramount can do its own thing with the property. Whether that’s politically motivated or not, no one will ever know for sure outside of Paramount.