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"This is an issue
people care about. My wife has
wondered for years when we were
going to do something about this,"
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said
during a Tuesday meeting, according
to The Wall Street Journal. "Bottom
line, the FCC is quieting a
persistent problem of the TV age, or
loud commercials."
The new rule will not go into effect next December so you'll have to put up with the loud ads for another year. But when the rule is enacted, cable operators and TV stations will be required to 'spot-check' channels to make sure it is being followed. The commercial volume will have to be roughly the same as a TV show.
The FCC says parts of the new provision will only last for a few years, but the agency will carefully monitor consumer complaints to see if the entire rule should be expanded.
The FCC's decision was triggered by Congress' passage in 2010 of the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) which authorized the agency to regulate the loudness of TV commercials.
The new rule will not go into effect next December so you'll have to put up with the loud ads for another year. But when the rule is enacted, cable operators and TV stations will be required to 'spot-check' channels to make sure it is being followed. The commercial volume will have to be roughly the same as a TV show.
The FCC says parts of the new provision will only last for a few years, but the agency will carefully monitor consumer complaints to see if the entire rule should be expanded.
The FCC's decision was triggered by Congress' passage in 2010 of the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) which authorized the agency to regulate the loudness of TV commercials.