First Contact

W25AI is on the air! We first went on air on September 29, 1990, above a location called Dollar Bills Saloon.

Two shows made their debut. Our first program was called "Stump Stoney," hosted by Mark "Stoney" Shoner. Shortly after that, "Ask The Program Director" was shown, starring Bryan Hollon.

Live production began with a bang. Channel 25 introduced Rick Flynn to the public as the host of "New Year's Eve Special with Rick Flynn." The show was Channel 25's first live television production at Dollar Bills Saloon. Channel 25 also shot and televised the first-ever Cincinnati Cyclones hockey game in March of 1991 using five cameras and covered the Sanders Hall implosion.

W25AI moved to a new location. First, Channel 25 relocated from a room above Dollar Bills Saloon to a 1,500-square-foot-office space in Golf Manor. Shortly after that, the transmitter moved from above Dollar Bills Saloon in Clifton to the top of the Vernon Manor Hotel.

Marcus T. is In The House. Channel 25 produced the live show "In The House with Marcus T" in 1991. Featuring live phone-in callers, in-studio guests, and various music videos, Marcus T. Franklin hosted a show that became a channel 25 cult hit. Channel 25 recorded over 100 episodes and syndicated the show to cities such as Philadelphia, where it ran for 24 hours straight in an "In The House" marathon!

Local events hit the air. In 1992 Channel 25 developed several relationships with other local media outlets. For example, Channel 25 aired a men's Xavier basketball game during primetime, a production done by Xavier's Cincinnati's station, WCPO Channel 9. Later that year, Channel 25 collaborated with Citicable to produce the annual "Findlay Market Parade" and "Riverfest."