By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – Potsdam radio stations WPDM and WSNN are rolling out new formats of music of the 1980s on FM and sports on AM.

Under its new owners, the staff is moving to new studios and offices and a new web site is under development.

“It’s a very exciting time,” said General Manager John Winter of Martz Communications, which has bought the stations from the original owners in the Kyle family and is reworking the formats of the AM and FM stations while trying to maintain the loyal local listener base and expand the audience.

Winter said that the FM station has been redubbed “B99.3, Hits of the ’80s Music Channel,” and the AM station will carry syndicated CBS sports national programming, including talk-radio shows, plus continued coverage of local sports.

Martz dropped the original plan to keep the country music format on FM after they looked deeper into the local media landscape.

“There are currently five country music stations in the area and the audience is really fragmented,” White said.

“We did market research and analysis and decided on a mainstream format that nobody else has: ’80s music and culture, which is on the rise, and we wanted to be part of it,” Winter said.

The AM station, at 1470, will “keep the tradition of sports. It’s part of the tradition of the station, and we want to keep the tradition.”

The tradition of local news will also continue. Winter said news director and anchor Scott Dosztan will be delivering or overseeing newscasts at 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30, 8, and 8:30 a.m., and at noon and 5 p.m., and ABC national news on the hour.

The building at 5 Beale St. in the village has been refurbished with two new studios, which began operation last week, and offices will also be moved from the long-time location three miles south of the village on U.S. Rt. 11. The transmitter and tower will remain at the Rt. 11 spot.

Winter also said there will be live, local announcers at the station through 10 p.m. The FM station will broadcast all day, every day, Winter said.