The rise of streaming has been nothing short of incredible. Netflix and Prime Video (formerly Lovefilm) just about got the ball rolling a couple of decades ago, the speed of growth in more recent times is extraordinary.
Then there are many, many alternatives that have popped up since, such as Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and a few others without "plus" in their names. It's a phenomenal amount of content at your fingertips – if you want to pay for it.
It's also a staggering amount of adverts you're likely to watch if you don't subscribe to the higher tiers.
That's the less welcome side of streaming services, with many offering cheaper ways to get shows and films into your home, as long as you don't mind watching waves of commercials.
There's perhaps an even less savoury side to that too – I've certainly noticed over the years that adverts on streaming platforms (and broadcast TV, to be honest) are played at a higher volume than the content the punctuate. This has always been intentional, as advertisers vie for your attention, but it can be particularly annoying to have to lunge for the remote each ad break.
Some TVs have measures to combat this, automatically adjusting the volume of advertising to mitigate the inconvenience, but many do not. Thankfully though, even if your set or sound system does not, it might be that we won't have to worry much longer.
The US state of California has passed a law that prohibits streaming services from transmitting adverts that have louder audio than the content they accompany. And that could send shock waves around the globe, with other regions considering following suit.
"We heard Californians loud and clear, and what's clear is that they don't want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program," said California Governor Gavin Newsom (via the BBC) when he signed the new law.
Sadly, even in the state, viewers will still have to put up with aural discrepancies for a few months longer – the law doesn't come into effect until 1 July 2026. But it's a start.
And hopefully, as the services have to introduce their own technologies to standardise their volume output, it will be implemented elsewhere too.
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