The new law states that, beginning July 1, 2026, streaming services that serve California viewers may no longer air commercials that play louder than the program or movie they accompany.
The measure, inspired by a harried legislative staffer’s complaint about a blaring ad waking an infant, effectively extends the protections of the federal CALM Act (which covers broadcast and cable) to the streaming era.
For consumers, it promises fewer “jump-scare” spikes; for streamers and advertisers, it creates a technical and operational deadline.
Here’s a practical, jargon-free guide to what the law does, how it will be implemented, who enforces it, what the industry is saying, and why this modest-sounding change could ripple through advertising and production workflows nationwide.
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What the law actually requires
SB 576 amends the California Business and Professions Code to say that, as of July 1, 2026, a “video streaming service that serves consumers residing in the state shall not transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany.”
The bill explicitly ties compliance to the same technical regulations the FCC adopted to implement the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, meaning streamers must meet loudness norms already in force for traditional TV.
The law also states it does not create a private right of action (individual viewers can’t sue under SB 576); enforcement and remedies are governed by state authority.
Why California? The state passed the bill partly because so many platforms, creators, and ad buyers are based there, and a first-in-the-nation rule could prompt major streamers to adopt a standard that ultimately influences how ads are mixed and delivered everywhere.
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Streamers and adtech vendors have a few practical ways to comply, but each has tradeoffs:
Pre-normalised creative: Ad agencies and production houses deliver ads already mastered to CALM-compliant loudness levels. That’s straightforward, but requires ad sellers to change mastering practices and may raise costs for small producers.
Server-side normalisation at insertion: Platforms can analyse incoming ad audio and apply loudness correction (compression, gain adjustments, or true-peak limiting) as ads are dynamically inserted.
This addresses variability when ads originate from multiple providers, but it necessitates robust real-time processing within the ad-insertion pipeline.
Metadata and signalling: embedding loudness metadata with assets allows downstream systems (players or set-top devices) to apply consistent normalisation.
However, not all DRM-protected streams or device players honour every metadata tag, which complicates end-to-end guarantees.
Device/player normalisation: Streaming apps or smart-TV players could also normalise audio on the client, but that’s dependent on device makers and app update cycles, and California’s approach places responsibility on the streaming service, not the TV manufacturer.
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Industry reaction
Coverage from trade outlets shows a predictable split. Consumer advocates and parents hailed the move as common-sense, a direct, fixable nuisance that improves the home viewing experience.
Streaming platforms and industry groups (including the Motion Picture Association and streaming-tech coalitions) expressed concerns about operational complexity and costs, especially for smaller ad-supported services that rely on a patchwork of ad suppliers.
They argued that many platforms already normalise loudness and that the law duplicates standards, but that implementation timelines and technical clarifications matter.
Trade outlets report the bill had bipartisan support in Sacramento and that negotiating language (including the no-private-suit clause) helped neutralise some opposition.
Still, expect vendors and platforms to press for clarifications about how compliance will be measured in the wild.
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