Major television broadcasters and leading content publishers including CBS, PBS, Yahoo! Video, Meredith Corporation, Blip.tv, Fora.tv, Motionbox, MyToons and StimTV will be collaborating with Adobe to distribute video content via the new Adobe Media Player. Adobe Media Player is Adobe’s first application built on Adobe AIR software, the cross operating system application runtime that extends rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop. Leveraging Adobe’s Flash technology, Adobe Media Player enables viewers to enjoy content from these broadcast television and Web video providers, giving them control to watch their favorite shows both online and offline in a customized video experience.

Adobe Media Player is a lightweight desktop application that offers new features for both viewers and content owners. The player allows viewers to watch content online or download and view videos offline, all with full-screen playback. A subscription feature easily enables viewers to subscribe to their favorite shows or podcasts and then automatically receive new episodes as they become available. Adobe Media Player is cross-platform, based on open standards – including RSS and SMIL – and brings viewers the highly desired ability to play Adobe Flash Player compatible video.

For content publishers, Adobe Media Player offers new ways to distribute, measure and build businesses around video content. The player enables a wider selection of monetization and branding options including viewer-centric dynamic advertising and the ability to customize the look and feel of the player to match the brand or theme of the video content. Adobe Media Player also provides sophisticated measurement of usage data, as well as content protection options, including streaming encryption, content integrity safeguards and identity-based protection.