LOUD commercials now illegal, stay CALM

[blueash]

Great News. Effective today the CALM act is law. Commercial Audio Loudness Mitigation requires that TV stations satellite and cable not have commercials that are louder than the regular programming. Enforcement will be done in response to consumer complaints. That means us. The FCC is charged with regulation. If you believe a commercial is too LOUD then please file. More information is available at the FCC website:

Loud Commercials and the CALM Act | FCC.gov (http://www.fcc.gov/guides/program-background-noise-and-loud-commercials)

It includes the specific information the FCC requests for their evaluation and a link to the online complaint form.
If you want to actually read the law it is here:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ311/pdf/PLAW-111publ311.pdf

[2BNTV]

Effective today!!!!! Thank goodbness they are finally doing something about loud commercials.

There have been times when I was almost asleep and then have a loud commercial jolt me awake. It is also a pain to continually have to adjust the volumn.

[Mudder]

YEA !!! Hope Comcast is listening.

[Here2Stay]

That bill was signed 4 years ago, within 3 weeks after Obama took office, what took so long for it to come into effect. Just wondered:o

[njbchbum]

Effective today!!!!! Thank goodbness they are finally doing something about loud commercials.

There have been times when I was almost asleep and then have a loud commercial jolt me awake. It is also a pain to continually have to adjust the volumn.

'they' aren't going to do anything about it until the consumer calls to report a loud commercial! bah humbug! do 'they ' think that's all consumers have to do? sheesh! :/

[blueash]

That bill was signed 4 years ago, within 3 weeks after Obama took office, what took so long for it to come into effect. Just wondered:o

Bill was proposed in 2008, finally passed in fall 2010. The House and Senate bill differred and they were reconciled and sent to President Obama who signed the law in Dec 2010 (two years ago not 4). The law required the FCC to establish rules then allow public comment then go into effect one year later to give the industry time to come into compliance and as per the wikipedia page:

On May 27, 2011, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Media Bureau (MB) Docket 11-93, to implement the CALM Act. Comments were due July 8, 2011, and reply will be due on July 21, 2011. Twelve parties filed comments. Those comments are now available in the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), as will be the reply comments, when due. The FCC will then issue a Report and Order (R&O) adopting rules to implement the CALM Act. The FCC had until December 15, 2011, to do so. The Commission's rules become effective one year from when they were adopted.

The FCC adopted the rules on December 13, 2011. They took effect on December 13, 2012. Television viewers are asked to report loud commercials that violate this bill to the FCC

[PaPaLarry]

Does this mean it starts immediatly, or is there a set date???????

[Mudder]

Hooray, no loud commercials last night. Now wasn't that simple....ridiculous that it took so long. Glad it has happened tho.

[senior citizen]

Great News. Effective today the CALM act is law. Commercial Audio Loudness Mitigation requires that TV stations satellite and cable not have commercials that are louder than the regular programming. Enforcement will be done in response to consumer complaints. That means us. The FCC is charged with regulation. If you believe a commercial is too LOUD then please file. More information is available at the FCC website:

Loud Commercials and the CALM Act | FCC.gov (http://www.fcc.gov/guides/program-background-noise-and-loud-commercials)

It includes the specific information the FCC requests for their evaluation and a link to the online complaint form.
If you want to actually read the law it is here:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ311/pdf/PLAW-111publ311.pdf


We were really happy to hear that on the news last evening.
Thanks for sharing........

It's certainly about time, as those commercials are too loud.

[Mack184]

'they' aren't going to do anything about it until the consumer calls to report a loud commercial! bah humbug! do 'they ' think that's all consumers have to do? sheesh! :/
See..you need a WITNESS. If you call the police about a possible crime they will come & investigate. If they don't know about it, how are they going to know to come and check it out?

Also your complaint to the FCC will require documentation & PROOF. Not just merely your personal gripe that you think the spot is too loud. It is most likely that the FCC will reject 99.999% of all complaints for various reasons, most of them centered on lack of PROOF.

Also..those who are going to complain about cable companies are going to have an extremely tough time because cable only re-transmits other signals. They have no control over what comes down the line, nor can they filter it with any real effectiveness. Now with that said, the local cable companies DO sell local spot avails and for those spots they WILL be liable for. However. once again, you will need documented PROOF..not just your personal gripe.

[ugotme]

I may be wrong but . . .

It is my understanding that the ads can be no louder than the show. However, I believe this is not only the spoken word BUT the music.

Therefore if ANY part of the music is loud that is the level that the commercials can be up to. This may not give us as much relief as we might like.

We shall see.

[Mack184]

There is a percentage of deviation that is allowed, (I think) it's +/- 5%. With that said, the complainant is going to have to have PROOF. Accurate documentation. You cannot just say that some commercial that ran on "X" show at 8pm on NBC was too loud. You will have to have the CORRECT name of the advertiser, the EXACT time that it aired and the EXACT date for the FCC to even consider your complaint. You will also be asked to provide RECORDED PROOF of your complaint if the FCC accepts your complaint. (this info comes courtesy of the Association of Broadcasters)

Again, you cannot merely call up & gripe. You MUST have adequate PROOF before your complaint will even be considered. This is just like accusing someone of a crime. No proof..no crime. AND..if your complaint is accepted, then the TV/Radio station/Network/Cable Company that you complain about has the right to refute your complaint in a formal FCC proceeding.

The mute button or "the Hopper" is going to be a better option than complaining.

[rubicon]

Thank God no more loud commericals just what I believed was a national priority...and people said nothing could get passed in Washington. Duh!

[Mack184]

Thank God no more loud commericals just what I believed was a national priority...and people said nothing could get passed in Washington. Duh!
Yes...This is the kind of legislation that our national lawmakers produce when they are too spineless to deal with any major issues. Makes it sound like they are actually doing something when they are not.

[happy employee]

or you could record everything you watch to a DVR and play it back at your leisure. ZAP! go the commercials.....

[blueash]

I may be wrong but . . .

It is my understanding that the ads can be no louder than the show. However, I believe this is not only the spoken word BUT the music.

Therefore if ANY part of the music is loud that is the level that the commercials can be up to. This may not give us as much relief as we might like.

We shall see.

Here is the rule:
"the FCC's rules require television commercial advertisements to have the same average volume as the programs that they accompany.The FCC's new rules require TV stations, cable operators, satellite TV operators and other pay TV providers to limit a commercial's average volume to that of the programming that it accompanies. A commercial may have louder and quieter moments, but, overall, it should be no louder than the surrounding programming."

Seems clear to me that the words average and overall would cover your concern that all they need to do is match the loudest sound in the programming.

[blueash]

There is a percentage of deviation that is allowed, (I think) it's +/- 5%. With that said, the complainant is going to have to have PROOF. Accurate documentation. You cannot just say that some commercial that ran on "X" show at 8pm on NBC was too loud. You will have to have the CORRECT name of the advertiser, the EXACT time that it aired and the EXACT date for the FCC to even consider your complaint. You will also be asked to provide RECORDED PROOF of your complaint if the FCC accepts your complaint. (this info comes courtesy of the Association of Broadcasters)

Again, you cannot merely call up & gripe. You MUST have adequate PROOF before your complaint will even be considered. This is just like accusing someone of a crime. No proof..no crime. AND..if your complaint is accepted, then the TV/Radio station/Network/Cable Company that you complain about has the right to refute your complaint in a formal FCC proceeding.

Look at the complaint form available from the above link and repeated here:
https://esupport.fcc.gov/ccmsforms/form2000.action?form_type=2000G

The form requires information on what channel, what time, the ID of the advertiser, whether over the air, cable, or satellite. Obviously they need this to investigate. There is absolutely nothing about needing any recording from the consumer. And they do not require PROOF. You are filing a complaint, you give information, the FCC investigates and gathers "proof" based on the information you provide. Your complaint will always be accepted and of course the broadcaster is given an opportunity to contest your claim. We all will have to wait to see what the outcome of complaints may be. It may well be that now that there is a law the broadcasters will utilize the technology available to not blast commercials. I hope there are no complaints ever needed.

I cannot find an organization named "association of broadcasters" but there is the NAB Nationalal Association of Broadcasters. Their website tells broadcasters how to comply including details on equipment to use, decible levels etc. That document is at :
http://www.nab.org/documents/resources/CALMBestPractices.pdf
I see nothing on their website about the consumer needing to provide recorded proof, and if it were there it would be incorrect.