After months of research and discussions, BBC announced Monday that it will launch its new iPlayer service beginning later this year, providing an online avenue for viewers in the United Kingdom to catch some of their favorite BBC shows such as "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" within a week after their original airing.

Not only will viewers be able to pick up the show streaming on the Web, but they also can download episodes, and hold on to them for 30 days. The service will not be available to people outside of BBC's coverage area, and will exclude classical recordings and book readings, the British network announced.

Not all BBC shows will be included outside of classical recordings and book readings, however. The BBC Trust -- which operates the taxpayer-supported network -- said that in the end, probably only 15 percent of all content aired on BBC will make it to iPlayer.

The service will initially be geared to those using Microsoft Windows, as that remains the dominant platform, but would expand to other systems such as Mac OSX in a "reasonable time frame."

"Doctor Who" currently airs Saturdays on BBC. "Torchwood" will return, this time to BBC Two, early next year.