The media industry’s relentless move to digital, file-based workflows is exerting a profound influence on the business of international content distribution. Traditional tape-based methods of content distribution can’t accommodate an increasingly digital, file-based, multi-platform and multiformat environment. In this paper, we take a look at the economic realities of international content distribution – including all the ways in which the tried-and-true processes of shipping physical media can bog down the operation and drive up costs.