Why are commercials so much louder than the program you're watching?

They want out eardrums to explode.

*our

I think u may b right

Usually am ;D

More often than not, it’s because they simply want to get your attention. But sometimes it can be because the movie/program playing is old and has different sound frequencies than the (new) advertisements. Say, you were watching TV and the first episode of ‘Friends’ came on… The sound frequencies and quality of sound would be poorer than the commercials in the break, because the commercials are newly made and the TV show was made in the 90s.

So the ads could come out louder, and clearer than the program.

Yes, commercials are louder. Various techniques are used including using announcers with naturally loud voices and compression techniques. And I’m sure the television stations transmit commercials at higher volumes than the regular programs. When watching television programs, we often have trouble hearing the dialog. We have no trouble hearing the commercials, tho’.

Back in 1963, I remember an Australian Electronics magazine was talking about this very subject and they agreed then that Commercials are louder than the programs!

Because they want you to wake up and use the “silent” button on your TV. Or they want to alarm you that it’s about time to either go to the bathroom or get a snack from the fridge.