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CALM Act Adopted by FCC - Commercials are Getting Quieter
Thu Dec 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ETTags: CALM Act, Commercials (all tags)
On the down side, it's not going to take effect until next December.
It seems pretty safe to say that nobody likes to have their shows, movies and games interrupted by commercials. As bad as the unwanted break is though, it gets even worse when those commercials are louder than the show you're watching.
Thankfully, something has finally been done about it. Cable companies and advertisers didn't do it themselves of course, there had to be a bill sent through congress to make it all happen. The CALM act has finally been passed and enacted by the FCC, forcing broadcasters to keep advertisements at the same maximum volume level as the show you're watching.
On the down side, this won't go into effect for a full year. Until December of 2012 you'll be stuck dealing with the same jarringly loud commercials we have now - assuming that you don't record your favorite shows and skip through the commercials or just download them and skip it all together.
Source: Engadget
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Smartphones to Blame for Low Commercial Viewership
Thu Jun 02, 2011 at 10:00 AM ETTags: Smartphones, Commercials (all tags)
It's not DVRs that advertisers have to worry about, but alternate entertainment sources.
A new study from IPG Media Lab and YuM has found that it isn't the DVR or even channel surfing that advertisers have to fear. The biggest threat to keeping eyes on advertisements is the increasingly popular smartphone.
The study tracked 48 adults who were asked to watch 30 minutes of TV in a living room style setup and 30 minutes of TV in an office-like environment. They watched content that they'd normally watch and were asked to bring whatever devices they normally have handy when watching television.
It was found in the study that more people turned their heads away from the screen to use their smartphones than anything else. Those fast forwarding content with a DVR may have skipped through the ads, but they kept watching the screen during that time. Those using smartphones simply turned away and tuned out.
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CALM Act Approved – Commercials Are Getting Quieter
Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 02:00 PM ETTags: CALM Act, Commercials (all tags)
It's decades late, but we're finally getting some regulation on ridiculous commercial volumes.
You've probably been complaining about this as long as you've been watching television. Commercials are freakishly loud. They're louder than the show most of the time, and can be a pain to deal with, especially when watching at low volumes.
Congress has finally decided to do something about it by approving the CALM act, which would require that television commercials meet certain loudness requirements.
"Consumers have been asking for a solution to this problem for decades, and today they finally have it," says Califronia representative Anna Eshoo.
Of course, with advances like Dolby Volume which was created to deal with this and the move of consumers from traditional TV to streaming and download services, this bill seems to be too little too late.
The bill is now on the way to President Obama for final approval.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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