After just two episodes, could The CW's Gossip Girl be on the way out?

Its Sept. 19 debut pulled in an average 2.3 rating — not exactly stellar, but for the second- (third?) rate cable network, it wasn't terrible. Last week's follow-up, however, saw viewership drop by 25 percent. (Or, as Time Warner's PR department reminds you, "Gossip Girl retained 89% of its series debut audience last week in teens, 85% in female teens and 77% in women 18-34 (2.4/6)." Ah, those niche interests.)

So could this spell the demise for Blair and Serena's frenemy-ship? Not necessarily, thanks to Nielsen's never-ending quest to please the TV networks who pay its bills.

The oft-skewered ratings service is beginning to count "time-shift" viewing. That is, if you watch the show on your DVR within three days of its original air date, you'll help its numbers, thus giving Chuck at least one more chance at date rape.

And since the new ratings pumping trick helps scripted programming more than reality fare – who wants to watch Survivor two days late after your Facebook friends revealed who got voted off? – and since DVR-users skew younger, perhaps Gossip Girl's actual audience is larger than suspected. After all, it'd be patently unfair to discount teenage viewers who need their Wednesday 9pm time slot to purge into trash bins or meet their new dealer in the park.