Read the actual specification
A loudness target and a maximum peak limit constrain different aspects of an owned programme. Meeting one does not establish the other. Begin with the destination's written requirements, including the stage at which measurements apply. Do not import a broadcast number into an unrelated website upload simply because it appears in a familiar recommendation.
EBU R128-2023 is a broadcast loudness recommendation that uses programme loudness and maximum true peak as separate measures. Its scope is valuable context, but it is not evidence that every online destination requires the same settings. Keep any platform-specific delivery requirement with the project.
Measure after the consequential stages
Identify the actual audio derivative delivered to the audience: its mix, encoding and any downstream processing under your control. If you measure an earlier uncompressed master, preserve that result but label its stage. It cannot silently become a measurement of the final compressed derivative.
Build an acceptance note with source mix identifier, processing history, measurement tool and version, measured interval and result. Review the entire finished programme when that is the requirement. Measuring one quiet passage cannot represent its loudest transition, and one peak number does not describe the programme's listening balance.
Make a controlled adjustment
Suppose a hypothetical delivery has acceptable overall loudness but exceeds the destination's peak ceiling. Raising or lowering every section to chase a new overall target may be unnecessary. Investigate the relevant transient and choose a documented adjustment appropriate to the mix, then recheck the resulting programme.
Conversely, a programme below the peak ceiling can still be quieter than the required loudness target. The available headroom and programme dynamics determine what adjustments are practical. Preserve the creative master and make a labelled delivery version rather than overwriting it with a speculative universal normalisation.
Review sound as well as numbers
Listen around the changed passages for distortion, pumping or damage to important transients. Then measure the final encoded version where required and verify its duration and channel layout. A meter can support a technical decision without deciding whether the editorial result still sounds appropriate.
Deliver the actual measurement and its scope, including any stage outside your control. Do not claim that a player volume setting proves file-level conformance. The useful result is a final asset whose measured properties and listening review match a specific handoff requirement.
Questions answered
Is peak normalisation the same as programme loudness normalisation?
No. They control different measurements and can produce different listening results.
Should every web video use the EBU broadcast target?
Use the actual destination specification. A broadcast recommendation is not a universal web-upload contract.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.