The Atlanta Hawks have a new sound, and it comes with a distinctly Atlanta beat. Stephen Arnold Music has created a new musical theme and sonic branding package for Gray Media and Raycom Sports’ Atlanta Hawks broadcasts, blending live orchestration with the city’s hip-hop heritage.
The package will accompany all non-nationally televised Hawks regular-season games produced by Raycom Sports, airing across Atlanta News First, Peachtree Sports Network and Prime Video, as well as Gray Media stations throughout Georgia.
It will also be used across Gray Media’s Hawks pregame and postgame coverage.
At the center of the package are two long-form modular themes designed to work across the many rhythms of a live basketball broadcast, from opens and transitions to promotional spots and shorter sonic IDs.
But rather than create another sweeping, interchangeable sports anthem, Stephen Arnold Music wanted the sound to belong specifically to Atlanta.
The Dallas-based sonic branding company worked with artist partners to shape the hip-hop elements with a regional sensibility, combining Atlanta’s musical influence with the scale and energy of a traditional sports score. Watch below:
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“Our goal was to give Gray Media a recognizable sonic identity as a sports content provider, with a musical foundation that could support an entire broadcast package,” said Chad Cook, president and creative director of Stephen Arnold Music.
Cook said the longer compositions were deliberately built with multiple sections, hooks and musical flourishes that could be pulled apart and repurposed throughout a broadcast.
That gives Gray Media what Cook describes as a flexible “sonic toolkit,” allowing recognizable elements of the Hawks theme to appear in everything from game transitions and IDs to promotional content.
The Hawks package also fits into Gray Media’s broader sonic branding strategy.
Stephen Arnold Music previously developed music for Gray’s regional sports partnerships with Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
While each package is tailored to its individual sport, city, and audience, they share a melodic foundation designed to create continuity across Gray Media’s expanding sports portfolio.
For the Hawks, the creative challenge was finding the point where that established musical identity could meet both the pacing of NBA basketball and Atlanta’s unmistakable influence on hip-hop.
The broadcasts will air over the air on WANF and Peachtree Sports Network, with distribution through Xfinity, Spectrum, DirecTV and DISH. Gray stations in Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah will also carry games locally.
It’s another example of how sports branding increasingly extends beyond logos, graphics and broadcast opens.
If the work succeeds, Hawks viewers won’t need to see the screen to know what they’re watching.
They’ll hear Atlanta.
