Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) is leading the way against captive-audience media by championing the successful House bill to curb loud TV commercials, Media by Choice says in a letter to Rep. Eshoo thanking her for her leadership on the issue.
“The practice of media companies to hit viewers over the head with loud commercials is part and parcel with their practice of locating TV and other audio-video media in places where people can’t escape it,” Media by Choice says in its letter on H.R. 1084, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), sponsor of CALM Act
CALM passed the House last week and a similar bill is under consideration in the Senate. The bill directs the Federal Communicatons Commission to develop rules prohibiting media companies from broadcasting commercials at a volume louder than the accompanying programming.
Although TVs in the home is not a form of captive-audience media, because people choose when they watch TV, if at all, the practice of broadcasting commercials at a far higher volume than the accompanying programming has the effect of taking away people’s control of the media they consume and how they consume it.
By forcing people to turn down the volume or hit the mute button at commercial breaks, or else just put up with the intrusion, the media companies are exploiting technology to force-feed content to people, leaving them with only a negative choice: either block the content or try to tune it out.
Rep. Eshoo’s successful bill shows there’s a growing recognition of captive-audience media and a willingness to curb it.
“Your leadership on this issue has shown that our representatives in Congress can come together to curb the abusive use of media technology,” Media by Choice says in its letter. “I hope you’ll continue to lead as the practice of captive-audience media spreads throughout our environment.”
