Starting as early as the end of next month, television commercials broadcast at a volume that is louder than the programs they air next to could be fined, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
Commission spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said the commissioners have approved an amendment to the Rules for Engineering Technology of Cable Radio and Television System (有線廣播電視系統工程技術管理規則), with a new article added to regulate the volume of television programs as well as commercials.
“We have received complaints from both audience members and lawmakers that they are sometimes startled by television commercials because they are way too loud,” Chen said when asked why the commission proposed the amendment.
“We think the problem can be solved through a change in the regulations,” Chen added.
According to the commission, the new article would require that the difference between the maximum volume of two adjacent television channels must not exceed 3 A-weighted decibels (dBA).
Moreover, the maximum volume of any two television channels must not have a difference larger than 6dBA.
For commercials aired during a television program, the new article says that the commercials’ equivalent continuous sound pressure level must not exceed those of adjacent program segments by 3dBA.
The maximum volume of a commercial must not be higher than the maximum volume of adjacent program segments by 3dBA.
Sheen Jinn-Chyuan (沈進泉), section chief of the commission’s technology management department, said all the differences can be measured with machines.
“If a commercial lasts 15 seconds, then we can measure the equivalent continuous sound pressure levels of 15-second program segments before and after the commercial,” Sheen said.
Sheen said the NCC would display the amendment in a public notice for at least a week to solicit public opinion, which would help it make minor changes the amendment’s contents.
After the amendment takes effect, cable system operators caught violating the rules would first receive a warning. Those who fail to improve could face a penalty of between NT$50,000 and NT$500,000.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe