[bigbob]

It’s called “AVC” - Automatic Volume Control. The console radios people listened to Amos & Andy on had it. This is deliberate on the part of the cable and media companies to promote their commercials over the content, and regulating this as a technical matter is within the legitimate scope of federal authority. It’s just a shame the industry doesn’t have the pride to set high standards for itself.

[LostInBayport]

This is deliberate on the part of the cable and media companies to promote their commercials over the content, and regulating this as a technical matter is within the legitimate scope of federal authority. It’s just a shame the industry doesn’t have the pride to set high standards for itself.

True. High standards would mean offering a la carte programming instead of the current practice of network welfare. I'd rather pay $40/month for ten channels I actually watch than twice that for 300 I could not care less about. I know that will never happen --- too many liberal networks would collapse overnight if they actually had to depend on earning their own keep instead of automatically getting a share of the "bundle" paid by each subscriber to a tier of channels. Yeah, MSNBC, I'm talkin' about you.