California has become the latest jurisdiction to crack down on loud advertisements on streaming platforms, with a new law set to take effect on July 1 that prohibits video streaming services from transmitting audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content they accompany. The legislation, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2025, brings parity between streaming services and broadcast, cable, and satellite TV providers, which are already subject to similar regulations under the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.
The CALM Act, passed in 2010, requires commercials on broadcast TV and cable stations to have an average volume that matches the programming they accompany. The new California law extends this requirement to streaming services, which have become increasingly popular viewing options in recent years. According to a state Assembly analysis, many streaming services were already trying to manage the loudness of advertisements, but the new law aims to ensure consistency across all platforms.
Background and Context
The issue of loud commercials has been a long-standing concern for consumers, with thousands of complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in recent years. In 2024 alone, the FCC received over 1,700 complaints about loud commercials, with many regarding streaming services. The new California law is seen as a step towards addressing this issue and providing relief to viewers who are frustrated by jarring audio levels.
The law was inspired by a personal experience of its author, Democratic Senator Tom Umberg, whose legislative director complained about a loud ad waking up his infant daughter while he was watching a streaming show. "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 said in a statement accompanying Newsom's signing of the bill.
Why it Matters to the Industry
The new law has significant implications for the adult industry, which relies heavily on streaming platforms and online content delivery. Adult-industry operators will need to adapt their infrastructure and workflows to comply with the new regulations, which may require integrating file-based and real-time processing and loudness control into server-side commercial insertion workflows.
According to a report by TV Tech in December, streaming providers will need to make significant changes to their systems to meet the new requirements. This includes adjusting audio levels on both the client-side (e.g., TVs, tablets) and server-side, as well as implementing loudness control measures for server-side ad insertion.
What Comes Next
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