AP at CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/12/03/con-loud-commercials.html)

A baby step in the right direction, but unfortunately won't change my viewing habits.

Thank goodness! I hate when the commercials are 1000000000 times louder than the actual show you're watching!

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/12/03/con-loud-commercials.html

U.S. moves to limit volume on TV commercials
Last Updated: Friday, December 3, 2010 | 10:50 AM ET
The Associated Press

The United States is moving to limit the volume on intrusively loud television commercials. Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, sponsored the bill which will limit the volume on television commercials. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press) Final congressional approval has been given to a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted.

The bill's sponsor is Representative Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat. She said it was her own "earsplitting experiences" that got her involved, recalling how the ads "blew us out of the house" when she watched television, already set at a high volume, with her parents. "TV programs use a variety of sound levels to build dramatic effect. But advertisements have been neither subtle nor nuanced," Eshoo said after the House passed the bill on a voice vote. When the law goes into effect, she said, "consumers will no longer have to experience being blasted at."

'Consumers will no longer have to experience being blasted at.'—Anna Eshoo, bill sponsorUnder the legislation, now heading to President Barack Obama for his signature, the Federal Communications Commission would be required within one year to adopt industry standards that co-ordinate ad decibel levels to those of the regular program. The new regulations, applying to all broadcast providers, including cable and satellite, would go into effect a year after that.

"Every American has likely experienced the frustration of abrasively loud television commercials," said Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who sponsored the bill in the Senate when it was approved in September. "While this may be an effective way for ads to grab attention, it also adds unnecessary stress to the daily lives of many Americans. ""It's not like the consumer has any choices," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America. "It's a case where it's very difficult for consumers to express their sovereignty."

For 50 years, FCC has only been able to dispense advice. The FCC has been receiving complaints from consumers since the 1960s about jarring sound bursts when commercials come on, but the commission currently does not regulate program or commercial volume. Instead, it reminds viewers that newer TVs come equipped with circuits designed to stabilize volume differences or advises people that one solution is still to make aggressive use of the mute button on the remote.

According to the FCC, one solution to loud commercials is to make aggressive use of the mute button on the remote. (iStock) The legislation would force the industry to abide by its own recommendations for audio standards as devised a year ago by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, an organization of broadcasters. Dick O'Brien, director of government relations at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, said his group supports the bill because "we fully understand that advertising works best when it engages consumers, not alienates them."

He said enforcing volume control guidelines already proposed by the industry "in itself should make the viewing experience of the American public a much more user-friendly one." Eshoo said there will be a "noticeable difference" in noise levels once the law goes into effect. It's a small bill in the greater scheme of things, she said, but "it will bring relief to millions of television viewers."

© The Canadian Press, 2010

It's about time, those stupid commericials are too loud.

Do people even still watch commercials?I certainly don't anymore.And it's because of over-advertising.TV stations pushing 15 minutes of ads nowadays per half hour,I would think has caused many people to not view commercials at all.Don't even the morons that advertise on television realize that the more ads shown ,the less people watch them.Heck when tv stations only aired about 5-6 minutes of ads per half hour alot of people ACTUALLY watched commercials.Honestly if you advertise on television nowadays,you're nothing short of a fool.

I almost never watch a TV show live anymore because of the advertisers' bonanza modern television has become. My wife and I record our shows and wait at least fifteen minutes to start watching, so we can fast-forward through all the commercials.

My wife and I do the same thing.Or we just record a show and view it at a different time.Plus we tend to view mainly non-commercial stations like Turner Classics,PBS etc. now more than ever.And to think when I was a kid and teenager I used to like commercials.But back then the commercials were often cute,clever and they showed so much less of them.

There's still a lot of creative, clever commercials out there. The problem is that there are just too many commercials, so nobody wants to watch them.

i dont watch tv anymore epcet for what would you do? pawn stars ,smallville. and judge judy. i do watch tv but now ifast froward to the comericas on my dvr. its great way to watch shows.

At least we can still mute commericals if we want. Let's hope advertisers don't force tv companies to remove the mute button from remote controls.

Interestingly, this news came from a source in Canada. This is the first I ever heard this story. (I guess the "drive-by media" here doesn't want us to know what "Big Government" wants to do!)

At least we can still mute commericals if we want. Let's hope advertisers don't force tv companies to remove the mute button from remote controls.
Because of advertisers having gotten totally out of control,and who knows they probably have a powerful lobby in the US government,the DVR that 'automatically' skips commercials(you did not even have to forward through the ads), was taken off the market.A sidenote:I'd bet if advertising never got so out of control,the DVR player would not have even become popular. The advertisers and tv stations have only themselves to blame, because it's quicky getting to a point where hardly anyone will be viewing commercials on television.

My HD TV has volume control, so that it doesn't get louder when commercials are on

The next headline I would like to read is:

US to limit TV volume...of CRAP



:p

My dad was really happy when I mentioned this to him. They always have to change the TV to soft mute when commercials come on. It's a pain in the butt.