The FCC finally...

Pulled the plug on overly loud commercials. Ruling that broadcasters and cable co's have to moderate ads volume, matched to the featured show.

The bad part, it takes effect next Dec.

Have they pulled the plug on dynamic range compression which is what actually makes the advertisements louder?

There are already restrictions here on volume but that doesn't prevent it "sounding" louder.

There are already restrictions on volume here, too. The legislation refers almost exclusively to a technical report by the ATSC, which I didn't follow very well from skimming through it, so I'm hoping that its more than just amplitude.

I did notice that it was very concerned with dialog volume. I hope that doesn't mean that they're just going to blast music instead.