[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

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-11...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

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by 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.

'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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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-11...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]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

'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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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.....