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Sunday, August 05, 2018

Has Anyone Else Noticed?

Recently WBOC turned up the volume on ALL commercials and it's driving viewers nuts. I mentioned it to my Wife the other day and she too noticed it and said she keeps the remote near by in order to mute every commercial. As I mentioned this to my friends they too noticed it being very loud as well. I guess they want to make sure when you go to the bathroom and close the door, WBOC's commercials will NOT be missed. 

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

I absolutely hate that. You should not have to keep a hand on the remote all the time because of their stupid commercials.

Anonymous said...

It's the idiot general manager maybe if he spent less time at the American legion getting drunk he would notice.

Anonymous said...

Why do you even watch WBOC? Switch to the Fox News channel and never go back. Stop supporting it by watching it!

Anonymous said...

Well now I know I’m not losing my mind ... I honestly thought it was my tv and that something was wrong with it . I mean to the point I was thinking about calling the geek squad from Best Buy where I bought the tv. This has made me laugh this am for sure but it has made me realize I’m not going crazy.

Anonymous said...

Know your Enemy.

Anonymous said...

His dad is there EVERY DAY getting trashed.

Anonymous said...

Yes I noticed it too and yes I also mute EVERY SINGLE COMMERCIAL>

Anonymous said...

How about NOT WATCHING it period ?

Anonymous said...

Stopped watching it and the other local station thirty years ago. Same as all stations with the volume during commercial's. There was a law passed a few years ago that was to stop this. When passed it was to nearly two years before it actually took place, Never did...

Anonymous said...

I think it has something to do with certain apps on your phone like Facebook. Recently these cellphone and tablet apps have partnered with advertisers. If a commercial comes on certain aspects of the commercial will trigger your phone or tablet to listen and then will report back that you as the consumer did actually hear or viewed the commercial.

The idea is that most people have their cell phones near them when watching TV and by turning on this feature they are then able to see if you fast forward, flip channels or leave the room during a commercial. Plus it allows TV Stations to show just how many people were reached during the time the commercial was aired.

By cranking up the volume this allows them to pad the numbers. If the TV is on in the living room and you are in the kitchen your phone may still pick up the triggers embedded in the commercial and count that commercial as being "viewed". The TV station can then claim they have more viewership than they actually have and charge more for the advertisement.

Anonymous said...

I never noticed....I watch fox news instead...

Anonymous said...

I now watch WMDT where local matters!
Tired of the all Delaware all time time news.
I switched long ago because of this.



Anonymous said...

A law was passed against that years ago. If you can prove that, WBOC could be burnt with a major fine.

Anonymous said...

So the long and short of it is that the broadcast station has to meet certain volume restraints. Commercials which are simply played as filler space do not.

The info below is straight from the FCC website. No I do not work for WBOC but have enough experience in the field to know the answer to the age old question.

FCC rules for loud TV commercials are based on the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.

Adjust your settings

If you are experiencing spikes in volume with both programming and commercials, you may be able to change the settings on your television or home theater system to help stabilize overall loudness. Many televisions and home theater systems have features to control loudness, such as automatic gain control, audio compression, or audio limiters, that can be turned on to provide a more consistent volume level across programs and commercials. These functions usually need to be activated through the equipment's "Set Up/Audio" menu.

Some commercials with louder and quieter moments may still seem "too loud" to some viewers, but are still in compliance because average volume is the rule.
Filing a complaint

The FCC does not monitor programming for loud commercials. We rely on people like you to let us know if they think there's a problem. If you have experienced what you believe is a violation of the rules regarding the loudness of commercial TV ads, you may file a complaint with the FCC at no cost.

What to include in your complaint:

--If you watched the commercial on pay TV (cable or satellite) or if you watched it on a broadcast station
--The name of the advertiser or product promoted in the commercial
--The date and time you saw the commercial
--The name of the TV program during which it aired
--Which TV station (by call sign and/or channel number and the station's community) or pay TV provider transmitted the commercial
--If you watched the commercial on pay TV, the channel number on which you saw it and the cable programmer or network

Anonymous said...

I don't even mute the commercials I just put it on pause wait 3 minutes run it ahead and start watching again

Anonymous said...

isnt this illegal?
contact the fcc

Anonymous said...

Wmdt is another liberal hack station ....watch Fox n friend.

Anonymous said...

https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials

Yes. The Commission adopted rules on December 13, 2011 that require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. The rules became effective on December 13, 2012, one year after the date of their adoption. Broadcast television stations and pay TV providers were given until this date to be in full compliance.

Anonymous said...

That has been going on for years on every channel, TV and radio. It drives us nuts and, since most people mute them, it is totally counter productive. I mean, if i was paying for a commercial and everyone mutes it, it's a total waste of money for the advertiser.
Another thing that makes me go ape-sh*t: does anyone else find it annoying that WBOC is the ONLY news outlet that re-announce the story location AFTER the story?!??? They will tell you where the story happened before the segment and then again, after! "Hello, this is {name here} reporting on {event} in Dover."
And then, they finish it with "that story brought to you by {name here},
IN DOVER"
Why is this the ONLY news organization that is redundant by repeating the by-line?? Do they think Delmarvian's are that slow on the uptake???

Anonymous said...

Like a petulant child,they scream when they want attention.

Anonymous said...

I don't watch wboc cause they're pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm , they should receive the J D Power award for loud audio on a commercial.
By the way J.DE. Power is as fake as it gets , all bull $hit from start to finish . J.D. Power is supported by Soros , wouldn't you just know it.

Anonymous said...

My mom goes there and knows him lol he is a drunk

Anonymous said...

That's simply the difference between the locally controlled volume for their ads, and the nationally controlled volume from the network shows. Nobody "turns up" anything. The network and local air are not at the same volume levels. Happens all the time on cable networks.

Anonymous said...

Years ago you could buy a tv that would keep the volume at one level. They stopped doing that it seems. I agree it is annoying. I have gotten to the point if I want to watch something I put it on the DVR and wait about 15 minutes and then start watching it. We can then just fast forward through all the commercials.

Anonymous said...


Personally enjoy all the ad time they devote to pushing their owned radio stations instead of selling the space to actual businesses! /sarc

Seriously, means they are not generating the sales they could, and would have sold in the past. The eyeballs are elsewhere, and the advertisers have become better informed and have more cost effective options.

Anonymous said...

Turned it off in 2008 and haven't looked back. After ten years of quiet I find it annoying when it's on at the doctor's office, car repair waiting room and restaurants.

Anonymous said...

I like him who cares what he does on his personal time ... you’ll never meet a nicer person than Craig and his dad is a super guy I helped him move down here to the shore ... he put in his time work retired and served our country let him enjoy himself.... those without sin can cast the first stone.

Anonymous said...

I stopped watching boc when I could find any info on the station about some serious accident a few years ago. Started watching 47 in the mornings after Brian Keane left and I met Jaisol Martinez (through work). Watch 47 for local stuff but CBS for national coverage. ABC is too biased for me. Have stopped watching most boc channels since antenna tv went off the air (in my part of Somerset County) when Telemundo came on. Called boc about it and was never given the same explanation twice in a row. Frequent scanning for antenna tv helped me find 47's family of channels (LAFF, Bounce, H&I, Escape, Grit and ION) Now I don't need to watch 16 or 21 for anything.

Anonymous said...

So is the General manager.

Anonymous said...

you had me 159, until the last line about casting stones. That wasn't necessary or relevant.

Anonymous said...

I have been complaining about the increased volume of commercials for sometime now. Especially Burton Autos and those annoying Holly Kia commercials. Don't know what their selling anymore cause I also mute them out when they come on.

Anonymous said...

All commercials are unwanted by me, but I'm nothing but a minion. Especially the locals that do their own acting...awful. Plus, if they throw a child in screaming thinking they are a family organization, really peeves me. There are many I would not do business with just because of their goofy ads. Again, I'm like the guy that was on Buton years ago...I'm no boooody.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update Joe. Now, if I listened to WBOC, I would have experienced it too. The book I am currently reading does not have commercials.

Ocsnapper said...

It's not the commercials they lower there's so you turn up your volume to hear the news and now the commercials are louder.