Stephen Arnold Music Creates Sonic Branding for The Hill TV
DALLAS — February 2023 — Stephen Arnold Music has created original sonic branding for The Hill TV, Nexstar Digital’s recently launched streaming channel. The package includes the main theme for the channel and its popular digital counterpart, as well as variations for promos, IDs, intros, bumps and other elements. Debuting in January, the theme has a distinctive, infectious sound that evokes The Hill TV’s unique approach to political journalism and appeal to younger viewers. Additionally, Stephen Arnold Music produced a new theme for Rising, The Hill TV’s groundbreaking daily program.
The channel’s new theme is instantly memorable with vibrant grooves carried by piano, percussion, electric guitar and supported by bass and drum. “It’s different from what you hear on other news outlets,” says Stephen Arnold Music Creative Director Chad Cook. “It has great energy and drive with a touch of seriousness that allows it to work with a variety of news and political content, and a musical sensibility in tune with a younger demographic that gets its news from OTT outlets.”
The theme is anchored by a distinctive, recurring motif that also serves as Hill TV’s sonic brand. “After exploring many musical directions, we arrived at a hybrid sound that captures the spirit of The Hill,” notes Cook. “It has a live feel and is more riffy than you’d expect. The piano lends it intelligence and adds a journalistic touch while sounding fresh.”
For Rising, Stephen Arnold Music’s creative team crafted an engaging theme that captures the morning show’s outside-the-beltway approach to news and analysis. “It’s modern and upbeat, and its core is a catchy guitar hook,” Cook explains. “It’s also versatile. Many news days are not bright. So, within the main theme is a sequence with a more serious feel that can be used when appropriate to the tone of the news day.”
The Hill TV package is the latest in a series of sonic branding projects that Stephen Arnold Music has produced for the Nexstar Media Group, the largest local broadcaster in the United States. It created sonic branding to support Nexstar’s 2020 launch of news channel NewsNation. It has also produced sonic branding and themes for the NewsNation programs Cuomo, Morning in America, Dan Abrams Live and Banfield.
About Stephen Arnold Music:
Often referred to as the most-heard, least-known composers in the world, Stephen Arnold Music’s creativity is experienced every day in more than 500 million homes worldwide. Based in Dallas, Texas, The World Leader In Sonic Branding® has 30 years of success delivering impactful, brand-defining music that makes a difference for today’s top networks, cable channels, content creators, television stations, digital media outlets, production companies, corporations and advertising agencies. With multiple Emmys, Promax Gold, ADDY and MUSE awards to their credit, Stephen Arnold Music’s specialized approach and commitment to the power of sonic branding, research, state-of-the-art production and unparalleled customer service is at the core of its promise. Stephen Arnold Music continues to set the creative bar in a highly competitive content landscape.