The BBC’s new £15m gaelic television channel has lost a third of its audience since it was launched last September. Viewing figures fell from 610,000 in the four weeks following its launch to 400,000 in November and December. BBC Scotland said it expects that figure to fall further, to about 250,000.

The station, a joint initiative with MG Alba, formerly the Gaelic Media Service, was set up following intense lobbying from politicians and the gaelic community.

They claimed the station was needed to support the language after results from the 2001 census showed that the number of gaelic speakers had fallen to an all-time low of 58,650.

The channel offers an eclectic mix of programmes, some of which appear to have little to do with gaelic culture. Among its early offerings was a documentary on Peter Manuel, the Glasgow serial killer, and a sitcom about the disembodied spirit of Elvis Presley living on the Isle of Lewis.

It also signed a deal to screen Scottish Premier League matches to attract viewers.

The channel broadcasts between 5pm and 11pm every day on Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media. Alasdair Morrison, the former Labour MSP who is now chairman of MG Alba, has called for the channel to be broadcast on Freeview, which he believes would allow a greater number of people to watch its programmes.

Critics last night said the small number of viewers did not justify the £15m of licence payers’ money that is spent on the channel each year.

“If they’re including football, then I think the channel is cheating. The whole thing is being set up to make this channel appear more popular than it is,” said Michael Fry, the historian.

“I’m actually surprised at the number of people actually watching it, given the fact that only 1% of the population are gaelic speakers.

“If 250,000 people end up watching it, then 200,000 of them do not speak gaelic, but then I expect you don’t need gaelic to watch football. At a time of stupendous economic crisis I think there are better ways to spend our money.”

BBC Scotland said: “We said at the time we would expect a lot of interest in the launch. Given the number of gaelic speakers, it shows there is still a good appetite for the channel.

“We do expect the figures to drop further. The interest in it has been very high. Usually audience figures at the start of a channel tend to be very high. The BBC Trust set a target of a reach of 250,000. That is quite a stiff target and we are delighted that the figures are still very high. Four hundred thousand is a good figure.” Asked if it would drop to 250,000, he said: “I think it is inevitable. We’re delighted with the figures at the moment. It shows that both gaelic and English speakers are coming in.

“We don’t have data on what they are watching, but we think they are coming in for the sport, news and music programmes. There is Scottish football on, rugby, a news programme and some strong documentaries. There was one on the IRA recently.

“Every Saturday night there is a deferred Scottish Premier League football match.”

Times Recommends

• Margot Fonteyn: In her footsteps
• Forget beautiful people, let's have wonky Brits
• Fundamentalist brew: faith and power