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Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu ads to get softer
New state law says commercials need to dial back
There were those pesky infomercials, like those promoting the Flowbee self-haircutting.
California just turned down the volume knob.
And now, San Diego County fitness folks, car tuners, and bored Thanksgiving party attendees are rejoicing because of a new law, SB 576.
Governor Gavin Newsom said, "By signing SB 576, California is dialing down this inconvenience across streaming platforms, which had previously not been subject to commercial volume regulations passed by Congress in 2010."
Manongdo's Nissan. "It happens a lot — especially when I’m streaming mixes on SoundCloud."
The new state law will regulate the volume of boisterous ads on streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu, ensuring that those sudden blasts of sound don’t become more deafening than the show you’re actually watching.
When I work out at 24 Hour Fitness in Mission Valley, the loud commercials that play while I watch my favorite shows interfere with my counts during sets. What's even worse is when I'm in a zone and a loud person speaking about a class-action lawsuit suddenly appears on my screen.
However, there was already a federal law regulating TV and cable commercials, but this new one extends that same rule to the world of 2025 streaming. And the change kicks in in July 2026.
I'm not the only San Diegan who refuses to pay the premium and celebrate a more peaceful stream.
Thanksgiving just being around the corner, imagine you can tuck away in a corner, watch your fave show, and not startle the fam with an erectile dysfunction commercial.
"Whenever I'm on Twitch and the ads come up, my audio always went from 5% to 100%," said Redditor Mr-Underground. "Absolutely unacceptable, and I'm happy something is finally being done about it." Okami added, "It's worse if you are trying to fall asleep listening to ASMR."
State Senator Thomas Umberg conceived the idea for the bill after one of his staff members complained that super loud ads from a streaming service kept waking their baby.
“This bill was inspired by baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who's finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work,” Umberg reportedly explained. “SB 576 brings some much-needed peace and quiet to California households by making sure streaming ads aren't louder than the shows we actually want to watch.”
My fellow car people are rejoicing as well.
On October 11, Walter Manongdo attended a Trunk or Treat gathering at the Sports Arena. His lime green Nissan 200SX was playing Halloween-themed movies on his audio-video system. Then, like clockwork, a commercial played, almost twice as loud, and ruined the whole vibe. "It's embarrassing," he said. "It happens a lot — especially when I’m streaming mixes on SoundCloud."
But the thing is, for music streaming services, since the law says “video streaming service” and references “video programming or video content the entity makes available for users to view”, these services, as purely audio platforms, would not be covered.
Although when I play my music on Spotify, there are sometimes accompanying music videos, and when I listen to a podcast, a synchronized video is also available. Online, there is no mention of whether Spotify will be affected. Like Manongdo, when I'm cruising my low car on Highland, nothing is worse than an embarrassing commercial that is loudly speaking about my age, thanks to the AI age estimation model used by these streaming services.
Then there are the YouTube interruptions I've personally seen during quinceañeras, where the hosts show highlight video reels of their loved ones, only to be interrupted by a commercial in front of hundreds of viewers.
For traditional TV, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that the commercials play at the same average volume as the shows they air with. This rule stems from the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, which Congress passed and the FCC implemented on December 13, 2012. Before that, there were those pesky infomercials, like those promoting the Flowbees or the BluBlockers, which woke us Gen Xers up, preparing us to tolerate these streaming commercials more than the younger generations can.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu ads to get softer
New state law says commercials need to dial back
Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu ads to get softer
New state law says commercials need to dial back
There were those pesky infomercials, like those promoting the Flowbee self-haircutting.
California just turned down the volume knob.
And now, San Diego County fitness folks, car tuners, and bored Thanksgiving party attendees are rejoicing because of a new law, SB 576.
Governor Gavin Newsom said, "By signing SB 576, California is dialing down this inconvenience across streaming platforms, which had previously not been subject to commercial volume regulations passed by Congress in 2010."
Manongdo's Nissan. "It happens a lot — especially when I’m streaming mixes on SoundCloud."
The new state law will regulate the volume of boisterous ads on streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu, ensuring that those sudden blasts of sound don’t become more deafening than the show you’re actually watching.
When I work out at 24 Hour Fitness in Mission Valley, the loud commercials that play while I watch my favorite shows interfere with my counts during sets. What's even worse is when I'm in a zone and a loud person speaking about a class-action lawsuit suddenly appears on my screen.
However, there was already a federal law regulating TV and cable commercials, but this new one extends that same rule to the world of 2025 streaming. And the change kicks in in July 2026.
I'm not the only San Diegan who refuses to pay the premium and celebrate a more peaceful stream.
Thanksgiving just being around the corner, imagine you can tuck away in a corner, watch your fave show, and not startle the fam with an erectile dysfunction commercial.
"Whenever I'm on Twitch and the ads come up, my audio always went from 5% to 100%," said Redditor Mr-Underground. "Absolutely unacceptable, and I'm happy something is finally being done about it." Okami added, "It's worse if you are trying to fall asleep listening to ASMR."
State Senator Thomas Umberg conceived the idea for the bill after one of his staff members complained that super loud ads from a streaming service kept waking their baby.
“This bill was inspired by baby Samantha and every exhausted parent who's finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work,” Umberg reportedly explained. “SB 576 brings some much-needed peace and quiet to California households by making sure streaming ads aren't louder than the shows we actually want to watch.”
My fellow car people are rejoicing as well.
On October 11, Walter Manongdo attended a Trunk or Treat gathering at the Sports Arena. His lime green Nissan 200SX was playing Halloween-themed movies on his audio-video system. Then, like clockwork, a commercial played, almost twice as loud, and ruined the whole vibe. "It's embarrassing," he said. "It happens a lot — especially when I’m streaming mixes on SoundCloud."
But the thing is, for music streaming services, since the law says “video streaming service” and references “video programming or video content the entity makes available for users to view”, these services, as purely audio platforms, would not be covered.
Although when I play my music on Spotify, there are sometimes accompanying music videos, and when I listen to a podcast, a synchronized video is also available. Online, there is no mention of whether Spotify will be affected. Like Manongdo, when I'm cruising my low car on Highland, nothing is worse than an embarrassing commercial that is loudly speaking about my age, thanks to the AI age estimation model used by these streaming services.
Then there are the YouTube interruptions I've personally seen during quinceañeras, where the hosts show highlight video reels of their loved ones, only to be interrupted by a commercial in front of hundreds of viewers.
For traditional TV, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires that the commercials play at the same average volume as the shows they air with. This rule stems from the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, which Congress passed and the FCC implemented on December 13, 2012. Before that, there were those pesky infomercials, like those promoting the Flowbees or the BluBlockers, which woke us Gen Xers up, preparing us to tolerate these streaming commercials more than the younger generations can.
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