Eshoo Calls for CALM in TV Commercials
Rep. Anna Eshoo Introduces Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/13/2008 8:44:00 AM
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would tackle head on the issue of annoyingly loud commercials and apply it directly to the TV industry.
The ad industry, at least according to one top executive, would be willing to go along with the idea, but it suggested that it would not require any new law, just Federal Communications Commission expertise.
The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act -- you can thank Eshoo's chief of staff for the acronym -- which was introduced this week, would compel the FCC within one year of passage to enact rules "requiring television advertisements not be excessively noisy."
According to the language of the bill, it would "require the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe a standard to preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany."
There is room for some interpretation in the bill, since one of its provisions is that the ad not be "excessively noisy or strident."
“Most Americans are not overjoyed to watch television commercials, but they are willing to tolerate them to sustain free over-the-air television. What annoys all of us is the sudden increase of volume when commercials are aired,” Eshoo said in announcing the bill, which would apply to ads on both broadcasting and cable.
She was joined in her attempt to turn down the volume on commercials by co-sponsor Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).
Saying that consumers have lodged complaints for years at the commission about the loudness of commercials relative to the shows they appear in, the chief counsel to the American Association of Advertising Agencies said having FCC engineers come up with a standard might be the way to go.
"Perhaps the most practical solution is to rely on the judgment of the technical and engineering experts at the FCC to determine an acceptable sound range or standard for commercials and content alike," said Adonis Hoffman, senior vice president and general counsel of the AAAA.
"I’m not sure, but I suspect that the FCC may have that authority already given its technical standards-setting jurisdiction, not to mention its jurisdiction over broadcast licensees. If so, that might obviate the need for any new legislation," he told B&C. "If there are new standards to be developed, the advertising industry would want to be a part of the process and certainly would comply with the new rules.”
Eshoo is said to have been pondering such a bill for a while.
Although it might seem a long-shot in a Congress ready to turn its attention to getting re-elected, a source said the thinking is that it could be one of those issues -- like the do-not-call list -- that strikes a chord.
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Memo to Rep. Eshoo. I hope you can get some results with "CALM". I'm so tired of loud commercials on every station being viewed. Also, if the sound can be regulated between stations. example: when changing from channel 13 to channel 3, it blasts you out of your chair. The volume has to be turned up on 13 to hear when changing back. It is extremely annoying when going back to a program on channel 3. Something should be done to regulate the volumes between programming channels and commercials.
Stan R Strassburg - 9/27/2009 2:33:39 PM EDT -
Advertisers should get smart. We record our shows and fast forward thru the Loud Commercials. If I watch a live show, I mute it during commercials or pause it.
Wise up TV industry, it is getting more acceptable to turn off the noise.
Sharon Laakko - 5/17/2009 1:12:27 AM EDT -
I'm not sure how effective the loud commercial is when we all mute the volume as a result. I never hear their message to buy their product, so maybe lowering the volume would sell more products? Just a thought.
Chris Thomas - 1/31/2009 9:45:21 PM EST -
I am so in favor of anything that would keep advertisers from raising the volume of commercials on television programs received via rabbit ears, satellite, cable or any other method. I have complained to my satellite provider but the representative claims the provider has to transmit the signal as it is received from the television stations. I don\'t recall the commercials \"blasting\" in the manner they are transmitted via satellite. Children sleeping in the bedroom have been disturbed by the loud commercials. I have to jump for the remote in order to tone down this unnecessary and intrusively loudness. I do not appreciate being manipulated in this manner by broadcasters. My only recourse until now with the introduction of this law has been to turn off the television. Bless the heart of the Congresswoman.
