Industry experts have labelled digital re-run channel Dave (formally UKTV G2) the surprise TV hit of the year. It's a surprise because the line-up of the channel has hardly changed from when it was UKTV G2 - yet, following its re-brand and new Freeview slot, in just a few months it has already become one of the most successful digital channels - leaping ahead of other older, more established stations in the ratings.

Dave mainly shows repeats of TV comedies, including QI, Have I Got News for You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, The Catherine Tate Show and Bottom, whilst also showing other entertainment programmes such as Top Gear and attempting to create its own programmes such as And Then You Die.

In the first four weeks of transmission, the channel received very large ratings for a digital station. Its highest ratings are thanks to QI (over 400,000 viewers an episode), followed by Top Gear (350,000) and Dragons' Den (around 300,000).

The head of Dave, Steve North said, "Male entertainment doesn't have to be lowbrow. You have to treat your viewers with respect and realise that the audience is much smarter than most TV people give them credit for. We know our viewers love the banter between Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, or Stephen Fry and Alan Davies. They wish their pub banter was like that - smart, funny, knowledgeable - and they secretly wish they could have a drink with those guys, but they know they can't so Dave will do instead."

One reason cited for the channel's popularity is its much-mocked new name. North said, "it's a very good name. We were looking for a genre name, like sci-fi or comedy, but we don't really have a genre. Then we were thinking for something that was classless, had universal appeal and wouldn't alienate women - because, although we're a male targeted channel, even Top Gear has an almost 40% female audience. Dave came up and I think it's just stood out in an immensely cluttered marketplace."

Simon Bevan, head of TV for Coca-Cola's media planning and buying agency, told MediaGuardian he was slightly shell-shocked by the speed of Dave's ascent. He said: "Research on the 16-34-year-old male audience in the UK, Dave comes in at fifth place behind E4, ITV2, Sky Sports 1 and Sky One - a very impressive performance. From a qualitative perspective, in the scores of comments I have picked up from both professional commentators and ordinary blokes, they appear to have cleaned up because almost every 16-44 male I know keeps talking about it - for example: 'three episodes of Top Gear back-to-back: genius!'".

Dave can be found on Freeview Channel 19.