ABC1 controller Brendan Dahill said the decision to air the show online before television was motivated by a desire to reduce piracy, as well as fulfill the needs of drooling Whovians, who have waited almost a year for the new series.
" Piracy is wrong, as you are denying someone their rights and income for their intellectual property," Mr Dahill said. "The fact that it is happening is indicative that as broadcasters we are not meeting demand for a segment of the population.
"So as broadcasters we need to find convenient ways of making programs available via legal means to discourage the need for piracy."
Mr Dahill said that the ABC's iView "is the most watched catch-up TV service in Australia". Almost one in two online Australians aged 16-plus having used iView.
"The new iView app for iPhones and iPod Touch, launched on June 26, has seen a phenomenal 434,000 downloads recorded to date, with 210,000 downloads recorded in its first week,"Mr Dahill said.
Progress...