By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Here’s a message TV viewers may not want to mute: The days of getting blasted out of the easy chair by blaring TV commercials may soon be over.
The House on Thursday passed a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted.
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said it was her own “earsplitting experiences” that got her involved, recalling how the ads “blew us out of the house” when she watched television, already set at a high volume, with her parents.