Calming trend in CALM complaints

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Anna EshooCALM Act authors Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have been tracking the bills effects, and according to the latest stats provided by the FCC, it appears that the bill is working – if only because consumer complaints are dwindling.


“I’m very pleased that the loudness standards set in place by the CALM Act are working,” Eshoo said. “Fewer complaints suggest that fewer TV commercials are airing at volume levels inconsistent with the programming around them. For consumers, this means they’re finally getting relief from the earsplitting volumes of the past.”

“Loud commercials have long been an unnecessary annoyance in the daily lives of Americans, and have consistently ranked among the top consumer complaints to the FCC,” Whitehouse said. “I was glad to work with Rep. Eshoo to pass a law to address this problem, and I’m pleased to see that the number of FCC complaints has steadily declined since the law took effect.”

According to the FCC, between the day the bill went into effect – 12/13/12 – and the end of that month, there were 4,777. That is more complaints than the FCC received through the months of June to September this year, which totaled 3,501. There were 9,916 complaints received between January and May 2013.

Here’s the breakdown by month from the latest FCC report:
June 2013: 940
July 2013: 1,020
August 2013: 837
September 2013: 704

RBR-TVBR observation: Hmmmmm….a little bit of a spike in July. Fireworks on TV? Just wondering…