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Rep. Anna Eshoo of California introduced a bill that would address the issue of loud commercials and apply it directly to the TV industry. According to one top executive, the advertising industry would go along with the idea, but suggested that it would not require any new law, just FCC expertise.
Within one year of being passed, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act would compel the FCC to enact rules " 'requiring television advertisements not be excessively noisy.' " The bill states that the FCC would be required " 'to prescribe a standard to preclude commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program material they accompany.' " Since one of the bill's provisions is that the ad not be " 'excessively noisy or strident,' " there is room for some interpretation.
Consumers have filed complaints to the commission for years about the loudness of commercials relative to the shows they appear in. The chief counsel to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) says that having FCC engineers introduce a standard might be a solution.
Adonis Hoffman, senior vice-president and general counsel of the AAAA, says, " 'I suspect that the FCC may have the authority already given its technical standards-setting jurisdiction, not to mention its jurisdiction over broadcast licensees. If so, that might obviate the need for any new legislation. If there are new standards to be developed, the advertising industry would want to be a part of the process and certainly would comply with the new rules.' "
Source: Broadcasting & Cable, 06/13/2008
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