Scotland's new Gaelic channel, BBC Alba, has proven to be a success in its first week, drawing more than 600,000 viewers to its initial schedule.

The figure is substantially higher than the 250,000 audience that the BBC and MG Alba, the partners in the station, said they wanted to attract, and will be a boost for the station which for the moment is available only on Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media and not on Freeview, the most popular digital system.

Research, carried out for TNS System Three for BBC Alba, found that 15% of the Scottish population, 610,000 viewers, tuned into the new station, which started broadcasting in mid-September.

With an annual budget of £14m, the channel is broadcasting from 5pm to 11pm every day, and is looking to attract an audience beyond the 60,000-100,000 Gaelic speakers in the country. Viewers in the Highlands and Islands were the biggest consumers with almost one in four, 23%, watching the station over its first week.

The research also found that 57% of the population, 2.3 million people, were "aware" of the new channel.

Other research carried out among Gaelic-speaking viewers showed that 82% of Gaelic speakers with access to the service had watched the channel over the first week. Of those, 87% watched over two hours of BBC Alba - presented by Fiona MacKenzie - according to the research by the Lèirsinn Agency.

The first night's viewing included a drama about Elvis arriving on Lewis and a documentary about the infamous killer Peter Manuel. The station also features sport with recorded SPL matches, but figures were unavailable for programme-by-programme popularity.

Margaret Mary Murray, head of BBC Alba, said the initial research results reflected "an excellent start".

She said: "We are delighted with the reaction to the channel. It has been a huge team effort for the partnership and for our producers and suppliers. Our service strategy was to create attractively different programmes which would serve the Gaelic communities but also appeal to a broad national audience.

"People seem to be drawn in by the freshness and originality of the channel's approach and we will work hard to maintain their interest."

Alasdair Morrison, chairman of MG Alba, said: "The viewing figures are tremendously encouraging and reflect the enthusiasm we have encountered across Scotland for the new channel."

The fate of BBC Alba's presence on Freeview lies with the BBC Trust, which is to evaluate the station some time before 2010.