The CALM Act: No more loud commercials

David Weinberg Dec 13, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The CALM Act: No more loud commercials

David Weinberg Dec 13, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY

A new law called the CALM Act just went into effect. Calm stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. It means that from now on TV commercials have to be the same volume as the programming they interrupt.

For years people complained to the FCC about loud TV commercials. They also complained to advertisers.

“They were saying we aren’t deaf. We don’t need people screaming at us” says Daniel Jaffe, a vice president at the Association of National Advertisers. Despite the complaints Jaffe says the “less sophisticated advertisers” continued blaring ads.

And then on June 13, 2009, TV went digital.

Now, says David Day, “You can really be louder than the program, which in the analog days wasn’t quite possible.” Day is President of DaySequera, which makes audio equipment for TV stations. He says the increase in volume caused even more people to complain, which prompted Congress to pass the CALM Act in 2010.

President Obama signed the law on Dec. 15, 2011, and as of yesterday the FCC begins enforcing it.

The Calm Act does not apply to radio.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.