Broadcast Audio Quality Standards: EBU R128, ATSC, and Streaming
If you produce audio for broadcast television, streaming platforms, podcasts, or online video, you need to meet specific loudness and quality standards. Different platforms and regions have different requirements, and submitting audio at the wrong loudness can result in automatic level correction that makes your content sound worse, not just different.
This guide explains the key broadcast audio quality standards you need to know and how to meet them.
Why Loudness Standards Exist
Before the era of loudness standards, advertisers discovered that simply making commercials louder than the surrounding programming made them more attention-grabbing. The "loud commercial problem" became severe enough that regulators stepped in.
The solution was Integrated Loudness — a measurement that averages the perceived loudness of audio over time, weighted to match human hearing characteristics. Rather than measuring peak level (which can be deceptive), Integrated Loudness (measured in LUFS — Loudness Units Full Scale) gives a consistent way to compare the overall loudness of different program material.
Streaming platforms use the same principle to ensure consistent experience across different content.
Understanding LUFS Measurement
LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) — the standard unit for measuring audio loudness relative to digital maximum. Always expressed as a negative number. Higher (less negative) = louder.
Integrated LUFS: Average loudness over the entire program. The primary specification for delivery.
True Peak (dBTP): The maximum instantaneous level, accounting for inter-sample peaks that can exceed 0 dBFS and cause distortion in digital-to-analog conversion. Always specified alongside LUFS for delivery.
LRA (Loudness Range): The dynamic range of the program. Some standards specify a maximum LRA to control over-dynamic content.
Major Standards by Platform
EBU R128 (European Broadcasting Union)
- Target: -23 LUFS ±1 LU integrated
- True Peak: -1 dBTP maximum
- LRA: ≤15 LU (recommended)
- Used by: European public broadcasters (BBC, ZDF, France Télévisions, RAI), many European streaming services
- When to use: Any delivery to European broadcasters or platforms that follow EBU guidelines
ATSC A/85 (US Broadcast)
- Target: -24 LUFS integrated (measured as -24 LKFS using the ATSC method)
- True Peak: -2 dBTP maximum
- Used by: US television broadcasters under the CALM Act requirement
- When to use: Delivery to US broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc.)
Podcast Standards
- Apple Podcasts recommendation: -16 LUFS integrated, -1 dBTP
- Spotify: -14 LUFS (Spotify normalizes to this target)
- General podcast: -16 LUFS is the widely accepted standard
- When to use: All podcast distribution
Streaming Video Platforms
- YouTube: -14 LUFS (YouTube reduces louder content to this target; quiet content stays quiet)
- Netflix: -27 LUFS for dialogue-heavy content, -24 LUFS for general content, -2 dBTP
- Amazon Prime: -24 LUFS, -2 dBTP
- Apple TV+: -27 LUFS, -2 dBTP
- Spotify video: -14 LUFS
Social Media
- Facebook/Instagram: -14 LUFS approximate
- TikTok: -14 LUFS approximate
- Twitter/X: -14 LUFS approximate
Why These Numbers Differ
The variation in LUFS targets between platforms seems confusing but has logic:
-23 LUFS (broadcast): Traditional broadcast programming has significant dynamic range — quiet passages and loud passages. The -23 LUFS target accommodates this range while preventing commercials from being disruptively loud.
-14 LUFS (streaming/social): Streaming content tends to be consumed on mobile devices in noisy environments. Higher loudness improves intelligibility in these conditions. Streaming platforms also apply normalization, so users don't encounter sudden level jumps.
-16 LUFS (podcast): A compromise that sounds good on earbuds and mobile speakers while preserving some dynamic range.
Meeting Standards: The Normalization Workflow
Step 1: Record and edit at comfortable working levels
Don't worry about LUFS targets during recording and editing. Work at comfortable monitoring levels.
Step 2: Process and mix to your editorial standards
Apply noise reduction, EQ, compression, and other processing as needed for quality.
Step 3: Apply a true peak limiter
Set a true peak limiter at -1 dBTP (or -2 dBTP for broadcast). This prevents inter-sample peaks regardless of subsequent processing.
Step 4: Apply loudness normalization
Use a tool that can measure and normalize to your target LUFS standard:
In Audacity:
Effect > Loudness Normalization → set target in LUFS
In iZotope RX Loudness Control:
Select target standard from presets (EBU R128, ATSC A/85, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Netflix, etc.) and apply. The professional choice for accurate standards-compliant delivery.
In DaVinci Resolve Fairlight:
Built-in loudness meter and normalization for broadcast standards.
Step 5: Verify with a meter
Use a LUFS meter to confirm your file hits the target. Free options: Youlean Loudness Meter (plugin), online LUFS meters. Professional: iZotope RX, Izotope Insight.
True Peak vs. Peak: Why It Matters
Regular peak measurement looks at individual samples. True peak accounts for the fact that audio signals between samples can exceed the peak of the samples themselves (inter-sample peaks).
When audio is converted from digital to analog, inter-sample peaks that exceed 0 dBFS cause clipping distortion in the output. True peak measurement (dBTP) catches these peaks that sample-level measurement misses.
Always use a true peak limiter for final delivery. Standard "peak" limiters do not prevent inter-sample peaks.
Audio Quality for Professional Restoration Clients
For corporate, broadcast, and professional content producers who need loudness-standards-compliant delivery, WefixSound delivers restored audio normalized to your specified standard:
- Podcast delivery: -16 LUFS / -1 dBTP
- YouTube delivery: -14 LUFS / -1 dBTP
- Broadcast delivery: EBU R128 or ATSC A/85 on request
- Streaming platform delivery: Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ specs available
Submit your audio and specify your delivery standard. We handle both the restoration and the final standards-compliant delivery in a single pass.
Common Mistakes with Loudness Standards
Measuring peak instead of integrated: A recording at -1 dBFS peak can be -23 LUFS integrated (very quiet classical music) or -8 LUFS integrated (heavily compressed pop). Peak measurement tells you nothing about perceived loudness.
Not accounting for true peak: Processing that affects inter-sample peaks (limiting, saturation, certain plugins) can push true peak above 0 dBFS even when sample peak appears to be within range.
Delivering to the wrong standard: US broadcasters need ATSC, not EBU. A -23 LUFS delivery to a platform that normalizes to -14 LUFS will be boosted 9 dB — boosting any residual noise along with the signal.
Normalizing before noise reduction: If you reduce noise after loudness normalization, you change the loudness. Normalize last, after all other processing.
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Understanding broadcast audio quality standards is essential for any professional audio producer. With the right tools and workflow, meeting EBU R128, ATSC A/85, or platform-specific LUFS targets becomes a routine final step rather than a source of uncertainty. WefixSound delivers restored audio to your specified standard as part of every project.