Animal Instincts: Thunder Keep WWLS-FM As Flagship Station With Multiyear Deal

The Thunder and Cumulus Media have signed a multiyear rights extension that will see WWLS-FM "continue as the team's flagship radio station," according to Mel Bracht of the OKLAHOMAN. WWLS will broadcast all preseason, regular-season and postseason games, as they have "since the team arrived from Seattle" in '08. Sister station KWPN-AM, as well as a "dozen other stations across the state and region," also will air all Thunder games. Matt Pinto "will return for his sixth season as the radio play-by-play voice." In addition to games, WWLS will continue to air the weekly "Thunder Insider" program, and Pinto will host a weekly call-in show. The station also will provide a "live stream of Thunder games via its website" that will be available in "a 75-mile radius around Oklahoma City." The deal with WWLS also includes "daily practice reports, player interviews and regular on-air appearances" by Pinto and FS Oklahoma announcers Brian Davis and Grant Long (OKLAHOMAN, 7/19).