The BBC and Adobe announced the public beta of the new BBC iPlayer Desktop download manager built on Adobe AIR, a key component of the Adobe Flash Platform. The new BBC iPlayer Desktop beta will enable Windows, Mac and Linux users to download programs to their desktops. Previously, the ability to download programs was only available for Windows users. Now, the new download manager allows users to view their favorite BBC shows, online or offline, with a high-quality solution across operating systems.

The BBC iPlayer Desktop application on Adobe AIR will be available to BBC iPlayer Labs users, who can sign up at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/labs. The BBC iPlayer Desktop application on AIR will be rolled out to all BBC iPlayer users during 2009.

The BBC iPlayer Desktop beta on Adobe AIR builds on an existing strategic relationship between the BBC and Adobe. The BBC iPlayer Desktop beta also integrates Adobe Flash Rights Management Server software for content protection.