• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 8, 2007

Steve Sternberg, the influential Madison Avenue TV programming analyst who last week cautioned advertisers to avoid jumping to any early conclusions based on press coverage of results from the first couple of weeks of the new TV season, Sunday night issued his own report indicating how some of the new prime-time shows are performing.

The analysis from Sternberg, executive vice president-audience analysis at Interpublic's Magna Global unit, reveals promising results for ABC's "Cavemen," "Carpoolers," "Dirty Sexy Money," and "Pushing Daisies; CBS' "Big Bang Theory" and "Moonlight;" NBC's "Chuck; and Fox's "Back To You," and "Kitchen Nightmares."

Sternberg's assessment indicated mixed initial results for ABC's "Private Practice" and "Big Shots;" and NBC's "Bionic Woman."

Sternberg indicated less than promising signs for ABC's "Big Shots;" CBS' "Cane" and "Kid Nation;" NBC's "Life;" and Fox's "K-Ville."

All of the initial assessments are based on the relative performance of the new shows in their respective time slots and counter-programming competition.

"It's still to early to make definitive judgments on some shows, and we still do not even have time-shifted data for the first week of the season. Nevertheless, we do have some indication of how the new shows are performing," Sternberg wrote, adding that the agency would continue to issue regular updates for his "prognosis" throughout the first couple of months of the new prime-time season.