Adobe today announced the immediate availability of Adobe Media Player 1.0 software, a app built on Adobe AIR that could significantly change the world of Internet media.

Adobe Media Player is a cross-platform media player that is being distributed by Adobe, but that can also be distributed as a “branded” player by publishers. Major television broadcasters and leading content publishers, including CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondéNet, and Scripps Networks have worked with Adobe to provide a broad range of television programming and entertaining video content to viewers.

Adobe has also announced Adobe TV, a network in Adobe Media Player that offers a series of shows focusing on Adobe creative media products.

“It’s a merger of TV Guide and DVR for Internet video content. Some great shows, like The Hills from MTV and CSI from CBS, is already available to view and more will be coming soon.” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe.

HD In Flash, Video Podcast-like Subscriptions

Adobe Media Player can provide high-quality playback of streamed, downloaded or locally-stored video in the Adobe Flash format. For the first time, consumers can download video outside the browser in the Adobe Flash format, which can be viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i video display resolutions.

Users can also subscribe to television shows and other online video content and then automatically receive new episodes of the shows as they become available.

To help viewers discover new content, a broad, searchable catalog of shows from leading media companies and networks is available. Some of the initial content available on Adobe Media Player includes:

• CSI: New York
• CSI: Miami
• Big Brother
• Star Trek
• Melrose Place
• Hawaii Five-O
• The Twilight Zone
• MacGyver
• The Hills
• MTV News
• Yo! MTV Raps
• Select shows on HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network
• Epicurious.com, Style.com and Wired.com from CondéNet
• PBS programming
• Music videos from Universal Music Group.
• Additional content from MTV Networks’ brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, The N, GameTrailers and Atom Films will be made available over the next several months.

The ubiquity of Adobe’s Flash combined with a growing body of content and branded layers could make this a major platform for online video.

New Revenue Models for Content and Media Publishers

Adobe Media Player is also creating a platform for making money from free subscription content.

According to Adobe:

Adobe Media Player enables viewers to subscribe to free content, giving them control to watch their favorite shows both online and offline. The player also offers next-generation offline monetization and branding options, including viewer-centric dynamic advertising for targeted marketing campaigns 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 can also provide content publishers with anonymous measurement of content usage data, such as when and how often a video has been viewed, in addition to supporting protection options such as protected streaming, advertising protection and video DRM protection.

This is what a lot of publishers want – but it will limit playback to supported platforms.

Availability

Adobe Media Player is immediately available as a free download for Windows and Macintosh.