Sen. Baldwin re-introduces bill to get Packers on TV in all Wisconsin counties

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WEAU) - Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin re-introduced a bill Tuesday to ensure that all residents of Wisconsin can watch the Green Bay Packers on television.

The bill, dubbed the Go Pack Go Act, would affect 13 counties and almost 415,000 people that are part of television markets based in other states.

The counties impacted would be Barron, Burnett, Dunn, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix and Washburn counties in northwestern Wisconsin, which are part of the Twin Cities media market; Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Iron and Sawyer Counties in northern Wisconsin, which are part of the Duluth-Superior media market; and Florence County, which is in the Marquette, Mich. media market.

“Every Packers fan across our state should be able to watch Packers games,” Sen. Baldwin said in a release. “My Go Pack Go Act would give Packers fans in every Wisconsin county the opportunity to watch Packers games.”

The affected counties receive programming from an out-of-state market, so any time the Packers play at the same time as the team that is part of the out-of-state market, fans in those counties receive that out-of-state market team’s broadcast. If the Minnesota Vikings are playing at the same time as the Packers, a dozen counties in northwestern Wisconsin could receive the Minnesota game. In Florence County, the Detroit Lions game could be televised instead of the Packers if they play at the same time.

The bill would require providers to give Wisconsin subscribers access to programming from stations in Wisconsin’s television markets, ensuring that any cable or satellite customer in Wisconsin can choose to view the Packers, as well as Wisconsin-based news and other programming.

More information about the bill is available on Sen. Baldwin’s website. The full text of the bill is available online.

clarification: The original version of this article said that conflicts involving Green Bay and either Minnesota or Detroit games in affected markets would defer to the home market's broadcast, meaning western/northwestern Wisconsin stations "would" see the Minnesota Vikings and Florence County would see the Detroit Lions. The language of the release is clear in that those markets "could" air the home market team's game instead.

correction: The FOX-affiliated station (WLUC) in Florence County shows the Green Bay Packers over the Detroit Lions in the event of any conflict, per the station's management.

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