In his current role as president of worldwide television distribution for MGM, Packer oversees all forms of TV distribution for the studio, including free-to-air, cable and satellite television, barter sales and emerging forms of TV programming distribution both domestically and internationally.

N: What, in your opinion, is the single biggest issue impacting global television distribution today?

Packer: It's the fact that that each country has different nuances that affect what they buy. Even having good product that fits the brand, if they've already hit their quota for the amount of U.S. product they can put in prime or the weekends or local versions, it's not going to happen. Quite frankly, it's a unique puzzle for each territory.

While rights management software tracks licensing windows and availability, the only way to know the status of local quotas for U.S. films in primetime is through relationships and knowing the marketplace, and by having sales executives in the local market.

That's why local sales reps are so very important to our global business. Having a proactive sales force that spends time with the individual clients is a very effective use of time and human resources. I'm a firm believer in having more time with clients and that level of personal investment.

N: For people interested in a career in distribution is it important to have some international experience?

Packer: I don't necessarily think you need to have experience in the international marketplace if you're going to focus on domestic distribution. Each market is very different and it really depends on what you want out of your career. If you really like the international markets, the travel or even potentially living overseas, then you should pursue that. But there's a lot of lifestyle choice involved with that decision. There are similarities between the global and domestic market, but domestically, we have a significant part of business that is barter, that doesn't exist internationally. There are some parts of the business that allow for the transfer of skills and knowledge, but the U.S. is really a unique marketplace.

N: Will consumers' growing preoccupation with downloading TV programs from the Internet and other on-demand program offerings eventually mean the death of the syndication business as we currently know it?

Packer: I don't think so. There's a lot of time and effort involved in searching the Internet for shows, knowing where to find them and which are the best quality and then pulling them down. One of my cable clients shared some research with me that showed Monday through Thursday, people pick their channels and prefer to have the programming pushed to them, a passive experience. They've had a long day at work, they've been inundated with choices and decisions all day, and they just want to sit back and have a passive, relaxing entertainment experience. I think the younger generation is less prone to this because they haven't been working 12-hour days. Once they start working harder jobs, and everybody does, they'll want to come home and just not think about it. Tivo may be having a big effect, time-shifting programming so it's more convenient for individual schedules. But that's a more active decision on the weekends, some people will still do it during the week, but at the end of the day, I don't think entertainment will become a completely on-demand world.

N: Is the fact that movies and television shows are now available for download over the Internet having an impact on local broadcast station sales?

Packer: Stations bring it up as a talking point, but I don’t think it's really affected anyone just yet. I think it will have an impact eventually, just due to the large number of choices consumers now have, but it's going to take some time to determine what will have a sustainable impact on television viewing habits.