Say what?

Like all large and lucrative industries, the television industry doesn’t like to be told what do by government regulators. So industry officials have agreed to set standards for themselves which would soften loud TV commercials.

The TV bigwigs announced their pledge to self-regulate at a recent hearing concerning legislation by California Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo (Bless you!) which would have required the FCC to set volume levels for commercials.

Currently, the level for TV ads should be no louder during commercials than the peak volume within the show being broadcast. But these ads are often placed next to very quiet moments during the show, or so the explanation goes.

Since it was hotter than blue blazes this past weekend where I live — in Southeast Texas — I decided the healthy thing to do was stay inside read and watch TV if something decent was on the tube. I had read recently about this proposed law and I thought it was a good idea if it would make a difference in lowering ad volumes. My thoughts on this matter surfaced more than once this weekend when commercials by Time-Warner cable almost jarred me from my chair.

I am sure that if the TV industry (including Time-Warner) actually does something to soften the loudness, they’ll find other ways to annoy their customers. And, I am talking about something more than leaving callers on hold indefinitely or giving the viewer poor customer service.