Washington ( CNN ) -- Say goodbye to one of the greatest irritants of modern life : television commercials that are MUCH LOUDER THAN THE SHOW YOU ARE WATCHING ! Beginning Thursday , the Federal Communications Commission is barring broadcasters and pay TV providers from airing excessively loud commercials , saying ads must maintain the `` same average volume '' as the programs they accompany . The move -- which undoubtedly will make many TV viewers happier , and save countless marriages -- addresses a problem that , regulators say , is almost as old as television itself . Loud commercials have been a leading source of complaints to the FCC since its consumer call center began reporting top complaints in 2002 . Since January 2008 , the FCC has received about 1,000 complaints and about 5,000 inquiries , the commission said . Congress mandated the change in the aptly named Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation , or CALM , Act in 2010 . Last year , the FCC set a December 13 , 2012 , deadline for full compliance . Until now , the FCC says it did n't regulate the `` loudness '' of commercials mainly because it was difficult to craft rules . For one thing , loudness is subjective . So , for years , the commission advised customers to mute their TVs or lower the volume . The CALM Act bill had wide bipartisan support , passing the Senate unanimously and the House by a voice vote . Bill supporters Rep. Anna Eshoo , D-California , and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse , D-Rhode Island , and industry representatives plan an event in Washington on Thursday to mark the full implementation of the law . The FCC says it has granted two temporary waivers to the law : one to South Georgia Governmental Services Authority , a municipal cable system , because of financial hardship ; and to WPFO in Waterville , Maine , which asked for a grant because it is relocating its facilities . Non-commercial television stations are exempt from the act . Political ads , however , must comply . The FCC will not monitor compliance , but instead will rely on consumer complaints to assist the commission to enforce the rule . Complaints can be filed by using the online complaint form , 2000G , at http : //www.fcc.gov/complaints .
A new rule requires that ads maintain the same volume as TV shows . It stems from the Commercial Advertising and Mitigation , or Enforcement , Act . Political ads must cease .