Ever notice when the volume of a commercial is vastly louder than the dialogue in your favorite TV show? U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., hopes to do something about it. According to press reports, Eshoo is sponsoring a bill that would require the FCC to "preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany."
The Big Four may already be attempting to address the problem, however. "The major television broadcast networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, are each, individually, implementing policies that attempt to control loud commercials," said David Donovan, president of the Association for Maximum Service Television, or MSTV, a broadcast industry trade group.
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Thank you! I’m so sick of scrambling for the remote to turn down the volume when it goes from regular to a loud Metallica concert in less than a second-and it’s especially annoying when it’s a frigging male ED commercial!!!
its what primates do!
It’s annoying, but I don’t think Congress needs to get involved.
I absolutely think congress and anybody else who is fed up with the media determining the “volume” of a commercial -vs- program…this is ridiculous…and if you don’t think anybody albeit media, congress, or joe schmoe should not get involved you are a discredit to sane people…
when and what will it take for a normal person to get this done…
FINALLY someone uses their power in government for something good. I would SO be behind this. I HATE loud commercials.
Press that little down arrow button labelled under “volume” on your remote.
Jonathon, it might sound like people are being lazy, but I shouldn’t have to sit there with the remote in my hand, nervously awaiting the commercial breaks so I can turn down the volume. I shouldn’t have to find myself jumping a foot off the damn sofa every time I let my guard down, and I shouldn’t have to find myself getting oddly angry at the station for having the show’s volumes too damn soft to hear. It’s just one of advertisers’ terrible methods of trying to stay “effective” in the DVR age, and it’s annoying as Hell. Good for everyone involved in trying to effect change; hope we get something like that going on in Canada, too.
It’s about d*****d time! My husband goes to bed a lot earlier than I do and I either have to have the volume so low I can’t hear the show or sit like everyone else and hope I can hit mute before the sound wakes him up! Its unreal how commercials echo throughout the house. Not only commercials but sometimes musical interludes in movies are just as bad! Hope they work on that too!
I agree with Jason, the self-satisfied oh so simple trite answers one sees in comments sections like this tend to never be smart, witty or even sensible as their originator thinks.
I’m supposed to glue the remote to my hand? Sit on my a** and never dare move from the TV?
Jonathan, this isn’t a matter of people being too lazy to use the volume control. It’s obnoxious of commercial producers to send masters with inordinately high volumes. It’s tantamount to me walking into your living room and hitting that little up arrow button labeled “volume” every time a commercial break starts. Are you cool with someone doing that because all you have to do is press volume down afterward?
Using tricks like this to get people to pay attention to commercials is desperate and irritating. Just because people instinctively react to the sound of a small child crying doesn’t mean that sound should be insert that sound at the beginning of TV commercials. Making people pay attention when they’ve made a choice not to is effing rude. Thank goodness for DVRs.
Jim, actually Congress does have to get involved, because it’s a federal legislative issue. Who else writes federal laws?
This kind of legislation angers me. It is a frivolous use of the Representative’s time, and our money.
FINALLY! While I agree this is not the best way of our reps to spend there time during this financial crisis, I’m also up late every night and really loud commercials are just beyond annoying so I’ll take it!
(Don’t bail out the loud commercials!)
Anna Eshoo for President in 2012
I remember back in the 80’s and/or 90’s, when this same subject was brought up, there were studies (sponsored by Ad groups no less) that stated that ads were no louder than the T.V. shows themselves. It was just ads had “better sound quality”. That was BS then as it is now. I now watch most shows online and you can really notice how frackin’ LOUD those thing are!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oops, sorry if that was too loud. I’ve gotten used to shouting over the commercials.
What I’ve noticed is that it isn’t the network’s commercials that are loud, but rather the commercials that the affiliates air during their allotted time. You can tell immediately when it is a locally paid commercial because you jump for the remote to lower the volume before it wakes the neighbors. CNN’s Headline News is worst about this. I nearly jump out of my skin each time it happens.
it’s not just local….get a grip on reality e4ia
Finally, a political cause I’d donate money to! Save my ears! The commercial volume is going to blow out my speakers some day.
Loud and/or insipidly stupid commercials are the reaosn many are moving to other forms of watching TV. Commericals that assault my ears, my peace of mind, or insult my intelligence are very common and very offensive.
I think the bill may be more noise than help. Here’s why, http://bit.ly/1bbBX4.
Now I find myself yelling at my son to “Hit the Mute!”, and I realize that I have turned into my mother (may she R.I.P. in a place where she doesn’t have to listen to these loud commercials anymore!).
One solution is to boycott the companies whose commercials volume have been jacked up and send them and the television station a letter stating the reason why.
I hope this happens. I despise all Billy Mays commercials, and those damn Canada commercials!
o, that comment should be an example of why you should think before you speak….rip Billy Mays.
Oh thank God! It’s about time somebody did something about this. I’ve written letters to Comcast because the ads they program are the worst offenders and they tried to blame the local affiliates. The affiliates are bad, I agree, but there is no local affiliate on cable/satellite channels. Then they pretended they didn’t know what I was talking about! I hadn’t heard about this bill but I wrote a letter to the FCC just yesterday complaining about this issue. They haven’t responded and I don’t expect they will, either. Government agencies are not exactly known for their responsiveness to citizens. Finally, legislation that might actually help everyone!
They are already claiming that loud commercials are just viewers’ perceptions, not reality. Baloney!! When I have to turn the volume on maximum to hear the regular programming, then get blasted when the commercials come on, that’s not my perception or imagination, that’s reality. Maybe the major broadcasters try to adhere better than others, but Eshoo is right — there are some, like the Outdoor Channel, that are blatantly blaring those commercials.
Nothing wrong with commercials since that is how we get TV without an abnoxious cable bill. But if they turned down the volume I might actually listen to it and not hit the mute button. And about the DEMOCRAT-keep your gov. out of it. Why don’t you petition the company itself like the ordinary citizen that you are.
its a bunch of bull crap that they are trying to feed us by telling us some garbage that the tv stations arent turning up the sound during a pepsi or toothpaste ad! im sitting here watching game network and i can hear the volume go up slowly while the program is still on. thus making the commercial louder. we dont want the keep adjusting the sound every 10 mins! thell the stupid switchers to keep their hands off the vol control!!!!
I live in an apartment. At night while watching a TV program in bed I have to keep the remote close at hand. The TV commercials are so LOUD that I have to turned the volume down 20 notches so as not to disturb the other tennants.
This is rediculous! Everywhere to look, listen or just see are commercials. They are ruining life as we use to know it.
Just refuse to buy the products that inundate / bombard you with these insulting annoyances!
OK. I totally agree with this! Turn those damn commercial volumes down. ADVERTISERS: The loud volumes are backfiring on you. If we all hit the mute button because it’s so damn loud, then we don’t hear or see any of your commercials. All your precious advertising dollars wasted. Further, I will boycott advertisers who blast me out of my chair just to prove a point. So don’t be stupid and so arrogant! I am willing to watch commercials and even support advertisers who respect me. Don’t be so pushy and you might get more people watching and hearing your commercials and even buying your products. Isn’t that what you want. Please respect us and we will respect you!
The CALM Act is a must. Advertisements are running inconsistently loud from normal volumes. This practice is an abuse of the viewing public. Please shut down this noise assault to humanity driven by greedy advertisers. Thank You
I completely agree with David. I’m sick of all of this noise pollution. FX is the absolute worst about loud commercials. I have officially stopped watching the channel due to the intensity of the commercials they air compared to the volume level of the shows. Someone really needs to work on making it against the law to air such commercials.