In an enlightened piece of legislation, as from June 1st the adverts on Portuguese TV stations must be at the same volume as the programme that the advertising break is interrupting.
The strategy of assuming everyone is stone-deaf when the adverts come on has long been criticised by viewers and consumer associations, who have filed thousands of complaints with Communications Regulator to no avail, until now.
The new regulation makes jacking up the volume of ads a serious offence, open to penalties of between €20,000 and €150,000.
The ban comes after several changes to the Law on Television and Audiovisual Services at the request of a directive from the Regulator itself, which was acting on the results of a study it had commissioned.
"The inconsistency of sound levels becomes one of the most frequent causes of annoyance among television viewers" read the regulator’s statement, which admitted that although these volume increases can easily be heard, they are harder to assess from a technical point of view.
The regulator will spend part of its valuable time taking random volume measurements from Portugal’s broadcasters.
