FCC passes CALM regulations, calls on consumers to report loud commercials

Small cable operators will have to monitor the volume levels in commercials carried in programming they distribute if there is a "pattern of complaints," FCC commissioner Michael Copps said Tuesday.

Following the signing by President Obama last year of the CALM (Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation) Act, FCC commissioners implemented new regulations that will compel broadcasters and multichannel video distributors to monitor the volume of commercials. The move came after the FCC received complaints from consumers that the volume levels during commercials sometimes jumps to uncomfortable levels, including infomercials for products such as OxiClean and ShamWow.

FCC commissioners voted unanimously to adopt CALM regulations Tuesday morning. The new rules, which will require broadcasters to monitor the level of commercials inserted in programming, will go into effect on Dec. 13, 2012.

"The compliance process puts heavy emphasis on consumer complaints," Copps said shortly before the vote. He noted that smaller cable operators, which had complained that CALM regulations would be costly, won't be required to monitor commercial levels unless the FCC sees a pattern of complaints about volume levels of commercials delivered by a local cable operator.

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