To control loudness during a junction between different types of broadcast content, such as a junction between program and commercial or promotional content, representative loudness values for content respectively before (P) and after (C) the junction are received from a playout automation system. A time-varying gain control is applied before and after the junction in order to smooth loudness around the junction. The audio gain is smoothly increased prior to the junction to a gain (P+C)/2P times higher than the original gain value. Then, the gain is reduced shortly before the junction to a value (P+C)/2C times lower than the original gain value. After the junction, the gain is returned smoothly to the original value.