Martz Communications Group is an American
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
broadcasting company, which operates three radio stations in the
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
area of
New York and one in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. The company, which also operates under the names Radio Power and Cartier Communications, is co-based in
Parishville, New York and
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
; with auxiliary offices in
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
;
Burlington, Vermont; and
Pointe-Claire
Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 ce ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
[The Suburban: "The impressive story of radio station entrepreneur Tim Martz", October 25, 2011.]
/ref>
The company was founded in 1986 by Tim Martz, a native of Kitchener, Ontario
)
, image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, blank_emblem_type = ...
who established a radio station in Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,797 at the 2020 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, Hus ...
, taking advantage of the market across the border in New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
without being required to submit to the rules of the CRTC
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
.[ Its scope eventually expanded to target larger ]Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
markets, such as Brockville
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...
, Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, Ottawa and Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, which lay within the broadcast range of its stations. The Canadian company Slaight Communications
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill. Slaight later also acquired CFOX in Montreal and CHOK in Sa ...
is also a minority shareholder in Martz. Slaight's ownership stake in Martz was ''not'' part of that company's sale of most of its broadcasting assets to Astral Media in 2007.
Stations
* Malone, New York
Malone ( moh, Tekanatà:ronhwe) is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part ...
: WICY
WICY (1490 AM) is an American radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Malone, New York, United States, the station is owned by the Martz Communications Group. WICY is known on-air as ''102.7 103.5 WICY'' (after its FM tran ...
* Potsdam, New York
Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popul ...
: WSNN
WSNN (99.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an 80s hits format. It is licensed to Potsdam, New York, United States. The station is owned by Martz Communications Group, through licensee Waters Communications Inc.
History
The station origina ...
* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
: WAMO
Martz Communications also handles advertising sales for Burlington, Vermont stations WEZF
WEZF (92.9 MHz, "Star 92.9") is a commercial FM radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station airs a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned and operated by Vox AM/FM. WEZF has studios and offices on Hegeman Avenue in Colch ...
(owned by Vox Communications) and WBTZ
WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, broadcasting to the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh radio market, heard around the Champlain Valley and into Montreal. The station is owned by Hall Co ...
(owned by Hall Communications
Hall Communications, Inc. is a broadcasting company based in Lakeland, Florida. The company currently owns 17 radio stations in Polk County, Florida; eastern Connecticut; New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Burlington, Vermont.
History
The company ...
).[
]
Former stations
Stephens Media Group
The following stations were previously owned by Martz, and sold February 1, 2008 to the Stephens Media Group:
* Canton, New York
Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, St. Lawrence County, New York (state), New York. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administr ...
: WRCD
WRCD (101.5 FM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic rock radio format. Licensed to Canton, New York, the station is owned by the Stephens Media Group. WRCD is an affiliate of the "Bob and Tom Show."
WRCD has an effective rad ...
, WNCQ-FM
* Massena, New York
Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12 ...
: WMSA
* Morristown, New York
Morristown is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 1,974 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Gouverneur Morris, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and landowner in New York.
T ...
: WYSX
* Norwood, New York: WVLF
* Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...
: WPAC-FM
Educational Media Foundation
The following stations were previously owned by Martz, and sold September 30, 2021 to the Educational Media Foundation:
* Chateaugay, New York
Chateaugay is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 2,155. The name is derived from a location in France, which was applied to a local land grant.
Within the town is a village also ...
: WYUL
* Malone, New York
Malone ( moh, Tekanatà:ronhwe) is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part ...
: WVNV
Martz also previously programmed the HD2 and HD3 feeds of WGPR
WGPR (107.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting an urban contemporary radio format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, its studios and offices are on East Jefferson Avenue on Detr ...
in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, which were repeated on local FM translators owned by Martz: W284BQ and W232CA. However, on January 31, 2012 Martz ceased operations of the HD feeds and the translators, due to financial and signal difficulties.
Other Former Stations
* Lexington/ Port Huron, Michigan: WBTI
WBTI is a Top 40 radio station licensed to Lexington, Michigan at 96.9 MHz on the FM dial, with an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts. WBTI covers Sanilac County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario as well as portions of Lapeer and ...
* Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette. It i ...
: WYSS
References
External links
*
{{Martz Communications Group
Radio broadcasting companies of the United States
Slaight Communications
Companies based in New York (state)
Companies based in San Francisco
Companies established in 1986
1986 establishments in the United States