AirLockAlpha.com

The overnight ratings are in, and "Jericho" has scored its best numbers so far this season. But will it be enough to save the show for a third season?

"Jericho" earned a 4.3 rating/7 share Tuesday according to Fast National ratings from Nielsen Media Research, a 7.7 percent audience increase over the previous week, and a 2.4 percent increase over its premiere.

This could be good news for "Jericho" fans who have been nervous about audience numbers and how it will affect the fate of the show.

"Jericho" finished behind ABC's "Primetime: What Would You Do?" by more than 1.5 million viewers, but was able to dominate the bomb NBC aired, "Quarterlife," which mustered no more than a 2.7/5, according to Zap2it.

There were a couple of drawbacks to the numbers, however. "Jericho" was the network's lowest-rated show of the evening, including the night's leader, a rerun of "NCIS" (which was pre-empted in the Tampa Bay market -- the nation's 13th largest media market -- following the death of that network affiliate's long-time chief meteorologist, Dick Fletcher), which still managed a 7.3/11.

At the same time, "Jericho" lost 2 percent of the audience who tuned in to "Big Brother: 'Til Death Do You Part."

Reports from Airlock Alpha sources at CBS said Tuesday's airing would require a significant audience boost in order to win a third season, something that was later supported by "Jericho" showrunner Carol Barbee in an interview with SciFi Wire.

CBS could announce an official decision on the fate of "Jericho" as early as next week.

Fast Nationals usually provide a snapshot of what Americans are watching by pulling numbers from the top urban markets that includes both live viewing and same-day timeshifted viewing. A rating point generally represents more than 1.1 million households while the share indicates the percentage of televisions turned on that was tuned to the specific program. These numbers typically shift when final ratings are issued.