FCC lowers the volume on TV commercials
Gannett News Service December 13, 2011 2:10PM
Those ultra-loud TV commercials will soon be a thing of the past. | Google Images
Updated: January 15, 2012 8:13AM
Those ultra-loud TV commercials will soon be a thing of the past. The Federal Communications Commission announced new regulations Tuesday requiring broadcasters and cable and satellite TV systems to maintain constant volume levels. The order — which goes into effect a year from now — “says commercials must have the same average volume as the programs they accompany,” says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Last year, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure that Congress passed giving the FCC authority to address the problem. A Harris poll taken around that time found that 86 percent of people surveyed said TV commercials were louder than the shows themselves — in many cases, much louder. “It is a problem that thousands of viewers have complained about, and we are doing something about it,” Genachowski says. While normal listening levels average about 70 decibels for a typical TV broadcast — 60 is equivalent to a restaurant conversation, 80 to a garbage disposal — levels on a TV channel can vary by as much as 20 decibels.
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