Lawmakers Want TV Stations To Dial Down Advertising Volume
June 11 2009 - 12:41PM
Dow Jones News
Television commercials are too loud, as most viewers know, and
members of Congress want broadcasters to turn down the volume.
A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., would
require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to "preclude
commercials from being broadcast at louder volumes than the program
material they accompany."
That idea is hard to resist, but it might be difficult to
mandate. "Many different entities are responsible for producing and
distributing the content consumers see and hear," U.S. Rep. Cliff
Stearns, R-Fla., said Thursday at a hearing of the House Energy and
Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee.
Broadcasters say they are addressing the problem already. "The
major television broadcast networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS (CBS)
and Fox, are each, individually, implementing policies that attempt
to control loud commercials," said David Donovan, president of the
Association for Maximum Service Television, or MSTV, a broadcast
industry trade group.
ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co. (DIS). NBC is a unit of
General Electric Co. (GE). Fox is owned by News Corp. (NWS), which
also owns Dow Jones Newswires.
Donovan said Eshoo's bill could actually slow TV stations'
voluntary efforts to control commercial volumes because any FCC
proceeding would generate wide debate and uncertainty.
Democrats appear undeterred, however. "I suspect that if
enacted, this measure will become as popular as the legislation
that created the 'Do Not Call' list," said Subcommittee Chairman
Rick Boucher, D-Va.
It's unclear how much momentum the measure has in a
congressional committee that also is tasked with massive health
care and climate change overhauls.
A congressional hearing alone could spur broadcasters to solve
the problem without the bill ever becoming law.
"I can assure you that the industry is motivated to act," said
NBC Universal Principal Engineer and Audio Architect Jim
Starzynksi. Final review of an industry standard on commercial
volume is expected in July, and broadcasters could begin
implementing it by fall, he said.
The Telecom Subcommittee also is considering legislation to
lower the prices prison inmates pay for phone calls. Some relatives
of inmates - many with limited incomes - have phone bills totaling
$300 to $400 a month because they accept collect calls from family
members inside a prison.
That bill is facing opposition from law enforcement and
companies that specialize in inmate telecommunications services,
such as Securus Technologies Inc., a Texas-based company.
Securus Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs Curtis
Hopfinger told the subcommittee that the imposing rate caps on
inmate calls would stifle competition in the market.
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263;
fawn.johnson@dowjones.com