The days of television viewers being bombarded with "ear-splitting" commercials are numbered, Canada's broadcasting regulator announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said draft regulations will be published by year's end to spell out that ads can't be louder than TV shows, and Canadian broadcasters will have until next September to comply with the new rules.
The commission pressed ahead with the move to regulate loud TV commercials after broadcasters argued the industry could resolve the matter on its own.
"Over the years, we have seen a steady increase in consumer complaints about loud ads," commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said.
"Broadcasters have allowed ear-splitting ads to disturb viewers and have left us little choice but to set out clear rules that will put an end to excessively loud ads. The technology exists, let's use it."
The announcement comes after the commission committed in February to deal with the concerns Canadians had with loud TV commercials, including the possibility of regulations. Public consultations followed, resulting in more than 7,000 comments over a twomonth period.
Canadians were "overwhelmingly" of the view that commercial advertisements were too loud and urged the CRTC to take action, the commission said of the consultations.
The Advanced Television Systems Committee - the internationally recognized technical standards body for digital television - set a standard in 2009 for measuring and controlling television signals in order to minimize fluctuations in loudness between programming and commercials.
The CRTC's proposed regulations will be based on this standard.
Canada's major broadcasters said they'll work over the next year to comply with the new rules, even though they recommended a different course of action.
Along with other broadcasters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation submitted to the CRTC "that we thought the industry could solve this issue on its own. The CRTC has decided differently and imposed a date (of) Sept. 1, 2012 by which a solution needs to be implemented. We're going to get working on meeting the deadline," said CBC spokesman Marco Dube.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said draft regulations will be published by year's end to spell out that ads can't be louder than TV shows, and Canadian broadcasters will have until next September to comply with the new rules.
The commission pressed ahead with the move to regulate loud TV commercials after broadcasters argued the industry could resolve the matter on its own.
"Over the years, we have seen a steady increase in consumer complaints about loud ads," commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said.
"Broadcasters have allowed ear-splitting ads to disturb viewers and have left us little choice but to set out clear rules that will put an end to excessively loud ads. The technology exists, let's use it."
The announcement comes after the commission committed in February to deal with the concerns Canadians had with loud TV commercials, including the possibility of regulations. Public consultations followed, resulting in more than 7,000 comments over a twomonth period.
Canadians were "overwhelmingly" of the view that commercial advertisements were too loud and urged the CRTC to take action, the commission said of the consultations.
The Advanced Television Systems Committee - the internationally recognized technical standards body for digital television - set a standard in 2009 for measuring and controlling television signals in order to minimize fluctuations in loudness between programming and commercials.
The CRTC's proposed regulations will be based on this standard.
Canada's major broadcasters said they'll work over the next year to comply with the new rules, even though they recommended a different course of action.
Along with other broadcasters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation submitted to the CRTC "that we thought the industry could solve this issue on its own. The CRTC has decided differently and imposed a date (of) Sept. 1, 2012 by which a solution needs to be implemented. We're going to get working on meeting the deadline," said CBC spokesman Marco Dube.
