Why are commercials louder than programming?
Commercials, promotion spots, and public service announcements are all recorded and broadcast within strict technical guidelines for both audio and video. In some instances a commercial might appear to sound louder than regular programming. The program may have a scene in which the characters are speaking softly. We naturally listen more intently or sometimes even turn up the volume to hear the dialogue. Then when the program cuts to a commercial that has energetic music and announcing, the commercial may sound louder than the program. We know that “loud” commercials are annoying to viewers, so we strive to prevent commercials from actually being louder than our other programming. WZZM 13 engineers use electronic measuring instruments to make the sound we broadcast never exceed a certain volume level limit.
