What the FCC's Implementation of the CALM Act Means to Broadcasters
On December 13th, 2011, the FCC moved to implement the 2010 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.
The new rules give over-the-air (OTA) broadcasters, cable operators, satellite television providers, and multichannel video program distributors (MVDPs) one year to come into full compliance, which in simple terms means that commercials have the same average volume as the programs they accompany.
More specifically, it means applying the ATSC A/85 Recommended Practice - a set of methods to measure and control the loudness of digital audio - to commercial advertisements delivered to viewers.
While the FCC has placed a responsibility upon broadcasters to ensure compliance, it has also stated that enforcement will be primarily complaint-driven. If viewers establish a pattern of complaints, the FCC will address them; but if viewers are satisfied that stations and MVPDs have effectively controlled the loudness levels of commercials (as evidenced by a lack of complaints) there is unlikely to be a problem.
Tim Carroll, President and Founder of Linear Acoustic, sums it up this way: “It simply comes down to not upsetting your viewers. Linear Acoustic continues to provide transmission encoding and processing equipment via our AERO line of products which ensure stations and MVPDs are in compliance by having a real-time processor installed and operating. We also provide file-based loudness control and metering equipment for compliance with the “Safe Harbor” portion of the CALM act. Operators combining measurement and manual or automatic loudness control can then rest easy knowing they will have high quality audio, satisfied viewers and thus compliance.”
