November could be a prolific month for avid television watchers everywhere.
November means Congress returns. If differences between bills approved by the House and Senate can be worked out and a law can be passed, television stations will be required to regulate volume level on commercials.
The Senate bill was passed unanimously in late September, proving that, if nothing else, our politicians enjoy their hearing as much as the rest of us do. The potential new law would require television stations and cable companies to keep the volume of commercials at the same volume as the program they’re interrupting.
Considering that television has been around for over 50 years, it seems odd that this law might finally happen. The FCC ruled in 1984 that it couldn’t fairly regulate the volume of commercials — a lame excuse that no one fought.
Thankfully, this law isn’t asking for much. All it demands is that when getting a snack at halftime, we aren’t assaulted by the ShamWow guy.
The Senate bill would mandate that the FCC adopt the regulations of the law within a year of the bill passing and start to enforce them a year later. It won’t be an immediate change, because the regulations could possibly mean television stations and cable companies having to buy new equipment.
Regulating the volume level is more complicated than just hitting a button. Both the shows themselves and the ads come from multiple and diverse sources, making it difficult to normalize volume levels. The multi-year plan is fair, as it allows the stations and companies to change equipment and begin following the new rules.
There have been no reported opponents to the bill, which shows that we all finally have something in common. Nothing is more obnoxious than turning up the volume so you can understand what witticism Abed muttered in “Community,” then being bombarded with a blaring commercial and scrambling to hit the mute button.
According to Gizmodo, there is an anonymous engineer saying the law may not change things because some content can’t be controlled, i.e. there may be some commercials whose volume can’t be changed. Furthermore, if regulators prove this law would be too difficult to enforce, they may be able to weasel out of it.
Whether or not this is true, at least our lawmakers are attempting to make a change. Hopefully the FCC will listen to the half-deaf, angered television watchers that want this bill to truly be enforced.
If you’re wondering whom to thank, get in touch with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Anna Eshoo, Democrats from Rhode Island and California, respectively.
Finally we have lawmakers that understand what we really want and are tackling an issue that breaks the party barrier — not the sound barrier.
Ask about Abbey’s favorite shows at amurrell@asu.edu
