Rare glimpse inside Divis as landmark transmitting station marks 70 years
The iconic Divis transmitting station, a familiar silhouette on the Belfast skyline for generations, is celebrating 70 years of uninterrupted broadcasting – and for the first time in years, the public is being given a rare look behind the scenes.
To mark the milestone, site operator Arqiva has released previously unseen footage from inside the station, located in the hills west of the city. The new material offers a unique glimpse at the inner workings of the facility that has quietly kept Northern Ireland connected for seven decades.
Built in 1955, Divis was Northern Ireland’s first permanent television transmitter, replacing a temporary set-up at Glencairn that had been hastily constructed to beam the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Since then, the site has played a pivotal role in the evolution of broadcasting across the region – from the arrival of colour television to the digital switchover in 2012, which saw the construction of a new mast.
The newly released footage reveals the vast scale and complexity of the station’s operations, showing both vintage equipment from the early days of broadcast and the cutting-edge technology now used to deliver signals to more than 440,000 homes. The visuals underscore Divis’s role not just as a historic landmark, but as a living piece of infrastructure still vital to daily life in Northern Ireland.
Mark Steele, Chief of Operations at Arqiva, said the station had been “part of life in Northern Ireland for seven decades” and that it remained a “reliable, inclusive and resilient” means of reaching people at scale.
“From its early days bringing television into homes for the first time, to its role today in delivering important radio and TV services, Divis has supported generations of broadcasters and audiences,” he said.
The site, still operated and maintained by Arqiva, has quietly adapted over the years to meet the changing demands of media consumption. Yet while streaming and on-demand services continue to grow, Divis remains the backbone of traditional broadcasting in the region.
A symbol of continuity, the Divis mast has stood firm through immense technological change – its steady signal a daily presence for listeners and viewers across Belfast, County Antrim, County Down and beyond.
As the station enters its eighth decade, the newly released footage serves as both a tribute to its enduring role and a reminder of the often-unseen work behind the broadcasts we take for granted.