Skip to main content

FCC issues new rule: No more loud TV commercials

loud-tv-commercials-shhhh-shutterstock
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Watching television is about to get a lot less obnoxious. No, they didn’t cancel “Jersey Shore,” sadly. It’s something better.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday passed a new regulation, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM), which requires cable and satellite TV broadcasters to maintain the same volume between shows and commercials.

“Most of us have … experienced this ourselves: You’re watching your favorite television program, or the news, and all of a sudden, a commercial comes on, and it sounds like someone turned up the volume — but no one did,” said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement. “Today, the FCC is quieting a persistent problem of the television age: loud commercials.”

According to Genachowski, the FCC has received more than 6,000 complaints about excessively loud commercials since 2008. And the Consumers Union says the problem of loud ads has appeared as a top grievance in 21 of the 25 quarterly reports it has released since 2002.

The new FCC rule requires both cable and satellite TV companies, as well as local broadcasters, to keep the volume levels of commercials in check.

CALM was originally passed by Congress in September 2010, and gave the FCC the task of addressing the problem of loud commercials. Unfortunately, CALM will not go into effect until December 2012 — an entire year from now. The FCC also reserves the right to grant a TV station a one-year waiver, and has the authority to renew the waiver for one additional year. Why would it take three years for an broadcaster to turn down the volume a bit? We haven’t a clue, but we hope the FCC never has to give these waivers.

In the meantime, the FCC reminds viewers that “manually controlling volume levels with the remote control remains the simplest way to reduce excessive loudness levels.” And adds that, “the ‘mute’ button on your TV remote is also useful to control excessively loud audio.” Thanks, FCC. We didn’t know that already.

[Image via Niv Koren/Shutterstock]

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
We tested them all — these are the best Sonos soundbars in 2024
Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar.

If you're shopping for a soundbar, you've probably stumbled upon Sonos. The company is responsible for many of the best soundbars of 2024, thanks to a combination of rich audio, time-tested reliability, and (fairly) reasonable prices. Sonos soundbars are great for home theaters, but they're just as capable of serving as a dedicated sound system for your favorite music, making them a hot commodity among all types of shoppers.

But which Sonos soundbar is the best? Many specs are shared across all devices in its lineup, which can make it difficult to figure out which is best for your needs. Should you opt for the expensive Sonos Arc? Or would you be better served by the affordable Sonos Ray? And what about the mid-range Beam – is it good enough to serve as the anchor of your home theater?

Read more
What is Sling Freestream?
Sling TV Freestream logo.

If you were to ask about the biggest trend in streaming video of late, chances are it’d be something called FAST. That’s short for free, ad-supported television. It’s everywhere. And if you’re looking to watch something without having to pay yet another monthly fee, it’s got you covered.

Sling TV has its own FAST service, called Sling Freestream. As the name implies, it’s free. In fact, you don’t even have to have a Sling TV account to watch.

Read more
Samsung S95D OLED first look: a reflection on excellence
Samsung S95D OLED

I recently traveled to New Jersey to visit Samsung for an up-close and personal look at the flagship TVs in its 2024 lineup, which includes Samsung’s 8K Neo-QLED and 4K Neo-QLEDs, and the reason we’re here today: the S95D.

The S95D is Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for 2024, and it has been the subject of some consternation for some TV enthusiasts because it has a new anti-glare or anti-reflective screen coating. Is there any merit to that concern? Has it overshadowed how good this TV could actually be thanks to a new 3rd generation QD-OLED panel? Is it any brighter? Should we be excited about this TV?

Read more