Bill to Turn Down Loud Commercials Goes to Obama
Congress shushed loud TV commercials. In a voice vote Thursday night, the House passed the CALM Act (S-2847), which would require TV ads to be set at the same volume as regular programming. “It’s a simple fix to a huge nuisance,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who sponsored the original House bill (HR-1084). Associations for advertisers and broadcasters said they don’t believe the new requirement will be onerous.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The House approved the Senate version of the CALM Act, which was sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. Lawmakers passed the bill under suspension of the rules, which meant a two-thirds majority was required. Debate on the bill occurred Tuesday, but the House postponed the vote because a quorum wasn’t present. The Senate passed the bill Sept. 29, and the bill now moves to the president’s desk. If Barack Obama signs the bill, advertisers will be required by the FCC to adopt industry technology within one year that modulates sound levels to prevent excessively loud ads.
"Consumers have been asking for a solution to this problem for decades,” said Eshoo. “The CALM Act gives consumers peace of mind, because it puts them in control of the sound in their homes.” Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., supported the bill on the floor Tuesday. Some say there are more important matters for Congress to deal with, but the Act does solve a problem families face every day, he said. In a written statement, Whitehouse agreed that it’s “far from the biggest issue we face,” but said “it will mean one less daily annoyance in our lives.”
The CALM Act shouldn’t create “any insurmountable problems” for major advertisers, said Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of the Association of National Advertisers. The legislation took into account self-regulatory efforts of the ad community, he said. “Obviously, we will have to see how this plays out in the marketplace, but it is likely to cause greater problems for small local advertisers than for the larger and technology sophisticated companies that comprise our membership."
"Broadcasters have been working on this issue voluntarily for the last two years,” said an NAB spokesman. “Given the time frames for implementing the legislation, we don’t think the costs will be exceedingly onerous for most stations.” An NCTA spokesman said that the cable industry will “work closely” with the FCC as the agency makes rules over the next year to implement the legislation.