Some play the ponies, some the stock markets – but buyers play the shows. Welcome to another edition of the greatest media game on earth.

You watched as the big Canadian nets pulled out all the stops: CTV enthralled its best customers with a special performance by American Idol champ Ruben Studdard; CanWest Global rewarded buyers who trekked to Don Mills with a GO train tour; City threw another bash, Joe Flaherty mocked Winnipeg in front of Drew Craig, and CBC enlisted Ron James to mock everyone else.

This is Canadian media in tie and tails, tap dancing for advertisers while holding out a top hat that holds millions.

Here at Strategy we’re once again first to hit the streets with Canada’s only complete package of everything a buyer needs to know about the 2003/04 season. It all starts on page nine, with a national overview of the year that was and predictions for the year to come. Next, on page 16, we present a comprehensive region-by-region analysis of the markets for local advertisers, including, for the first time this year, Calgary and Edmonton.

With the analogue specialties continuing to gain share of both dollars and eyeballs, we’d be remiss if we didn’t include a rundown of what the top channels have in store for the season to come. You’ll find that on page 22.

Next up are the digitals on page 29. They may not yet be must-buys, but we found they’ve made progress when it comes to both growing their audiences and finding their niches.

After that, we present Canada’s only complete listing of all the new conventional shows with analysis. Ordered by network, each entry includes not only the premise and talent, but predictions of how they’ll fare based on time-slots, competition and buzz.

Finally, at the end of this report, you’ll find complete local market grids for Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver starting on page 46 – so you can tell at a glance what Global is counterprogramming against CTV’s great white hope.

Don’t want to drop a mint on a ‘sure-thing’ David E. Kelley drama that gets cancelled in weeks? Read on. Remember, in last year’s issue, our buyers confidently predicted that the hottest new drama in 2002/03 would be CSI: Miami. Of course, they were absolutely right.

Duncan Hood, editor