A law regulating the volume of ads on streaming platforms has been in effect in California since July 1, 2026. Essentially, commercials can no longer be broadcast at a sound level higher than the surrounding editorial content. Therefore, brands purchasing ad inventory on platforms like Hulu, Peacock, or YouTube Premium—and reaching US audiences—must verify the compliance of their creative materials.
However, the impact doesn't just affect American companies. In fact, many Italian mid-market brands and SMEs run digital campaigns targeting the US market, often relying on agencies or trading desks that manage programmatic buying. Consequently, the responsibility for compliance also falls on audio materials produced in Italy. We at SHM Studio we monitor these regulatory developments to support clients in revising their digital advertising strategies.
In summary: anyone with active campaigns on streaming platforms targeting the United States needs to act now, checking the LKFS/LUFS levels of their ads and updating creative briefs. Finally, this regulation likely anticipates a regulatory trend that will expand to Europe in the coming years.
What does the new Californian law on streaming ads provide?
On July 1, 2026, a regulation came into effect in California governing the sound volume of advertisements broadcast on streaming platforms. The law, discussed in recent weeks by the specialized press — as reported by TechCrunch on June 28, 2026 — requires that the sound level of ads does not exceed that of the surrounding editorial content. In particular, the reference parameter is the LKFS (Loudness, K-weighted, relative to Full Scale) standard, already adopted by broadcast television in the United States through the CALM Act of 2010.
However, the scope of application now extends to on-demand streaming. Thus, platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, YouTube Premium, and other services with ad inventory are directly involved. Furthermore, the rule applies to ads distributed to users residing in California, regardless of the advertiser's geographic origin.
The technical mechanism: LKFS, LUFS, and audio normalization
To understand the operational impact, it's useful to clarify the technical functioning. The standard LKFS (practical equivalent to the unit LUFS — Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measures the perceived loudness of an audio file over a period of time. US broadcast television has adopted the target of for years -24 LKFS as a reference for programs. Consequently, spots must fall within the same range.
Therefore, an ad mastered at -14 LUFS — a common level in digital productions optimized for social platforms — would be non-compliant if distributed on regulated streaming. Similarly, audio aggressively compressed to sound louder
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