Four out of five Gaelic speakers are watching BBC Alba every week, along with almost 380,000 others in Scotland who don't speak the language.
The mix of Scottish Premier League matches, rugby, traditional music and award-winning analysis of European affairs has proved popular.
The growing success of the Gaelic TV channel is confirmed in the annual report for 2011-12 from MG Alba, the Gaelic Media Service. It shows that with BBC Alba becoming available on Freeview and other outlets last year, the average 15 plus minute weekly reach for the channel for the year was 436,000, compared with 180,000 the previous year.
The anytime average weekly reach was 515,000, compared with 220,000 the previous year.
Viewing of BBC Alba programmes on the iPlayer doubled over the course of the year, rising from 1.56 million viewings to 2.2 million viewings.
Alasdair Morrison, chairman of MG Alba, who is standing down, said: "Not only has BBC Alba made an important contribution to broadcasting in Scotland over the past year, but it has also strengthened the profile and use of the Gaelic language.
"Our Annual Report confirms that a growing audience is watching and enjoying Gaelic programmes. Broadcasting on Freeview and cable, coupled with satellite and iPlayer, enables all households in Scotland and beyond to access the diverse range of high-quality programmes that BBC Alba has to offer.
"Our focus now is to continue to build on the success to maintain a high level of viewers who are enjoying the premier package of home-grown productions and unique Scottish content."
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