UK NEWS
WATCHDOGS PULL PLUG ON LOUD TV ADS
Loud adverts in your living room could be a thing of the past
By Graham Hiscott
BROADCASTERS who crank up the volume when adverts are shown are to be curbed by television watchdogs.
The clampdown could end long-running concerns that TV stations try to please their paymasters by turning up sound levels to make the adverts stand out more.
A rise in viewer complaints suggests the problem is getting worse and the noise is getting louder, sparking the move towards setting new rules.
Regulators believe only a fraction of angry viewers complain – the rest may seethe but are more likely to turn the sound down by remote control during the ads and up again during the shows.
Strict rules governing the sound levels permitted during television ad breaks have been proposed by industry body the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice.
It has begun to monitor ads and is consulting with broadcasters about setting limits that would be in line with existing international standards.
Until recent years, watchdogs like the Advertising Standards Authority received only a handful of complaints about ad noise.
But last year the ASA received 250 complaints from angry viewers and although not all were upheld, it has led to concerns within the industry.
An ASA spokesman said: “We have all experienced it. You make yourself a cup of tea and switch on the TV in time for that film you have been wanting to see for ages. You settle back into your sofa, rest your feet on the coffee table and ease into the opening part of the film, a tense and suspenseful courtroom drama, before – BAAAM! – the commercial break comes along. And an all-singing, all-dancing chorus line exhorts you to visit a carpet showroom.
“And, because you have just spilled your tea on the carpet in a frantic scrabble for the volume control, you might just have to.”
A report in 2002 by broadcast regulators found 40 per cent of viewers thought ads were too loud. Many believe that figure would be a lot higher today if a similar survey was conducted.
TV companies claim the reason for loud adverts is not a deliberate attempt to persuade viewers to part with their money but a technical one. Programmes are broadcast in a format that allows for a wide range of sound levels – what is known as the dynamic range. This allows viewers to experience a clear difference when a character is speaking in a whisper to when they are shouting.
Ads are broadcast with much narrower dynamic ranges so there is not as great a difference in sound level between speaking quietly and an explosion or a big musical number.
TV networks claim that if a programme goes into an ad break with characters speaking normally, an excited message or song blaring out in the very first ad will appear to be louder.
The ASA accepts this leads to some ads being perceived as too loud when in fact they are no louder than other commercials but are simply shown directly after a “quiet” programme. But it also admits that their equipment only monitors actual sound levels and not “subjective loudness” – meaning how loud they appear in comparison to the previous programme.
A new set of guidelines for “subjective loudness” has now been set by the International Telecommunications Union, an industry body based in Switzerland.
It came up with guidelines after playing hundreds of audio clips to volunteers. Broadcasters are to be issued with sound meters based on these measurements.
The ASA will also be asking the public for their opinion on noisy adverts.
Last night an ITV spokeswoman said: “I know this issue has been looked at before. As far as I’m aware the volume doesn’t change, not on purpose anyway.”
WATCHDOGS PULL PLUG ON LOUD TV ADS
22.03.07, 7:51am
while the ASA are now taking notice of the complaints about the adverts could they PLEASE have a listen to the mind numbing senseless music in documentries where some times is so loud and irritating you can`t hear what the presenter is saying,national geoghraphic and the nature programs are very guilty of this,especially with the quite spoken presenters like david attenbourgh
• Posted by: ANNR • Report Comment
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