California Wants to Turn Down Volume on Ads Played by Streamers

The bill makes Netflix, Prime, and other streaming services regulate ad volume. It passed unanimously and now goes to the governor.

The logos for Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Sling TV on a remote control, in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 13, 2020. Jenny Kane/AP Photo

Netflix and other video streamers might need to chill a bit more when it comes to the volume of commercials played in California.

California lawmakers want to moderate blaring advertisements that play louder than the shows. They passed a bill on Sept. 22 to address the issue.

“Have you noticed the increased volume of ads in the middle of your favorite shows? They’re so jarring!” Santa Ana Democrat Sen. Tom Umberg said about the bill on social media. “If they can target ads to me based on my age and favorite cereal, I have the utmost faith they could fix this problem.”

Senate Bill 576 passed the Legislature unanimously and was sent to the governor’s desk.

If signed, the bill would go into effect July 1, 2026, to close a loophole that exempts streaming services from complying with the national CALM Act, enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The federal rules were adopted in 2011 and went into effect a year later. They require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany.

The way people watch shows and movies, however, has changed. Consumers are using entertainment apps, or video streaming services, much more often now, and these haven’t kept up with the protections, according to Umberg.

“As a result, consumers are increasingly subjected to loud, disruptive commercial advertisements with no regulatory safeguards,” Umberg said in a legislative analysis. “By ensuring that commercial advertisements do not play at a volume higher than the primary video content, this bill enhances the viewing experience and protects individuals with hearing sensitivities—including seniors, children, and those with auditory processing disorders—from sudden and jarring noise spikes.”

Netflix pioneered the switch to streaming services by introducing video streaming in January 2007, followed by Hulu in 2008, Amazon Prime Video in 2011, and Disney+ in late 2019.

The services have quickly become a household staple, Umberg added.

The bill does not give the state any enforcement power and doesn’t include a way for consumers to report violations.

State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) speaks at a Public Safety Committee hearing in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. Screenshot via California State Senate

The legislation faced opposition from the Motion Pictures Association, which represents Walt Disney Studios, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Discovery.

According to the group, the legislation was “unnecessary” as the studios were working voluntarily on the issue of loud advertisements.

Many streaming services have undertaken efforts to adjust the loudness of ads that come from server-side ad insertion. They are also working with the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Audio Engineering Society to establish the best way to “normalize” the volume level of advertising, according to the association.