The Federal Communications Commission just adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on the need for updates to the FCC's rules implementing the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Act. The NPR is seeking input on whether the CALM Act rules are effective in controlling and preventing loud commercials on programming provided by television broadcasters and pay TV providers, such as cable and satellite companies.
The CALM Act rules essentially require television broadcasters to ensure that, on average, commercials are transmitted at the same volume as the surrounding programming.
In its announcement of the NPR, the FCC said that, "Over the past several years the Commission received thousands of complaints about loud commercials on broadcast, cable, and satellite television. The high number of complaints took a troubling jump last year, which warrants a second look."
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, in a separate statement, said, "If there's one thing TV viewers hate more than annoying commercials, it would be loud, annoying commercials. And judging from my own experiences talking recently with neighbors and relatives at family gatherings, this issue is top of mind for a lot of people—second only, perhaps, to concerns about robocalls."
While the rules don't apply to streaming providers, the FCC also indicated that it is also considering whether the rules should be expanded to include them as well.
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