It is operated by the Northern Visions media and arts project, and although some staff are employed by the station, most involved are volunteers.

Alongside several ongoing 'community' programmes, the mainstay of regular, weekly shows included The Artery, created and filmed by an independent director, Royce Harper from the station's inception to late 2007.

This was a 45-minute arts, culture and music magazine style show that won a sizeable production award in 2006 from The Northern Ireland Film & Television Commission (now NI Screen).

The analogue signal was broadcast on UHF channel 62 (799.276 MHz), although coverage in Belfast was poor, as it was out of group on many receiving aerials.

NVTV was originally granted a four-year Restricted Service Licence by the Independent Television Commission, and is operated by the long established, non-profit Northern Visions media and arts centre in the Cathedral Quarter of the city.

The ACTT Workshop Declaration was a ground-breaking agreement promulgated by the ACTT (now BECTU) in 1982, in consultation with the English Regional Arts Associations, the Welsh Arts Council, Channel Four and the BFI, recognising the alternative practices of the 'workshops' and constituting them to encourage a cultural, social and political contribution to society.

The declaration was a radical step for a traditionally closed-shop union, and established working practices in the non-profit, cultural sector.

Groups of four or more full-time members whose funding derived from public sources and who engaged in non-commercial work on a not-for-profit basis were enfranchised by the ACTT and given a condition to grant aid for a period of 1, 2 or 3 years, freeing them from 'the tyranny of continually searching for insecure short time funding from arts organisations.

The recognition of cross-grade practice also allowed filmworkers to gain experience in a range of roles and stipulated that the group and not the commissioner would own sole copyright to the work.

In September 2003, Ofcom announced that it had decided to extend the period of the pilot scheme for, what it now refers to as, 'Community Radio', for a further year, until 31 December 2004.

Northern Visions moved into its present building in 2004 in the Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, and established an arts and digital media centre, principally to work with groups involved in the arts, culture and local heritage, media literacy and education, community development, urban regeneration and community relations.

It has championed access and participation in the arts and has formulated new ways of making films and digital content with local communities throughout its history as an organisation.