Saturday, December 19, 2009
After receiving complaints for decades, the federal government is finally doing something about noisy commercials that are louder than the regular programming that they interrupt. On Tuesday, the House approved by voice vote legislation seeking to lower the volume on television advertisements, which has angered Americans for years and prompted regular reports to the Federal Communications Commission.
Upon learning how common the complaint has become, Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which would require the TV industry to abide by its own rules on the subject. Last month, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, which sets standards for digital TV, formally approved technical guidelines that networks and stations can follow to avoid fluctuations in volume between programs and commercials. Eshoo’s bill would make such guidelines mandatory.
Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL), who supports the legislation, explained why it’s necessary for Congress to get involved in the matter. “You can say, ‘Well, that’s fine. Just turn it off,’” Stearns told the Associated Press. “But it’s constantly an irritant when you have to do it. And we’ve got all the new bowl games coming up.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
House Votes to Turn Down Volume of Noisy TV Ads (by Ann Sanner, Associated Press)
ATSC Makes Progress on Loudness Problem (by Glen Dickson, Broadcasting & Cable)
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