Today, we are publishing new guidance along with a technical update to the BCAP Code rule that governs sound levels in advertising.

Our underlying approach to protecting viewers from overly noisy content has not changed, but wider developments within the broadcasting industry provide an opportunity for us to highlight good practice and remind broadcasters of their responsibilities under the Code.

Is the Code changing significantly?

No, the underlying standard in the Code that broadcasters must adhere to remains the same. Rule 4.7 relies on measuring ‘subjective loudness’, which is an algorithm based on human perceptions of sound. The standard required by the Code is that the subjective loudness of advertising must be “consistent and in line” with that of the surrounding programming. In simple terms, individual ads must not exceed the level of the surrounding programming.

This ensures a consistent viewer experience. In the past, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), in enforcing the rule, has received significant numbers of complaints from viewers where loudness levels have been poorly matched, for instance, due to the use of post-production techniques like dynamic range compression.

What’s happening in the wider industry?

The Digital Production Partnership (DPP) – with broadcast industry members such as ITV, BBC, Sky, C4 and C5 – has been working to standardise the technical specification for all aspects of commercial delivery. Importantly, the DPP has adopted European Broadcast Union (EBU) Recommendation R128 on Loudness normalisation and permitted maximum level of audio signals. This technical standard introduces a fixed average level for the loudness of all content. In practice, this should contribute further to ensuring that awkward jumps in the level of loudness that can annoy viewers are significantly reduced.

The DPP’s technical standard is available here.

What do broadcasters need to do?

Despite acknowledging the DPP’s lead in furthering industry good practice, we do not consider that there is a case to change the standard set by the BCAP Code. This will continue as a minimum requirement to ensure that viewers are appropriately protected. Instead, the guidance and changes published today serve as a reminder to broadcasters of their responsibilities and an opportunity to find out more about the regulatory and technical framework around the sound levels issue.

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