Canadian broadcasters and TV service providers will soon have to dial down the volume on noisy commercials, to follow international standards.
Marlena emailed CTV's Steele on Your Side to ask why the volume on advertisements are often much louder than the preceding programming.
She's not alone in her complaint. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission received more than 300 complaints last year alone about the problem.
It has mandated an end to excessively loud ads by September of this year. This means commercials will no longer be allowed to exceed the decibels of the TV show running when they air.
Nearly 7,000 people wrote in to the CRTC while it was deciding whether or not to proceed with the new procedures. The US and UK already have regulations about how loud ads can be.
The CRTC says broadcasters need time to comply because they need to buy and install special equipment. The agency also wants to give them some time to understand all the new rules and procedures.
However, some broadcasters have already implemented solutions. Bell Media, the owner of CTV News, says its conversion is well underway and it has a team of experts dedicated to the process.
Every Friday Lynda Steele dips into the viewer mailbag and answers a handful of questions... watch tonight for more...
