Being able to settle in on Sundays (or Mondays, or Thursdays, or whenever) and watch the Green Bay Packers on television is every Wisconsinite’s god-given right. But for roughly 415,000 Packers fans living in 13 counties near Michigan and Minnesota, those green-and-gold broadcasts may occasionally be dropped in favor of Detroit Lions (ugh) or Minnesota Vikings (double ugh) games.
BUT NOT IF U.S. SENATOR TAMMY BALDWIN HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT.
On Tuesday, Baldwin reintroduced her so-called “Go Pack Go Act” to the U.S. Senate. The act—first introduced in 2019—”requires cable, satellite and other video providers to provide their Wisconsin subscribers with access to programming from broadcast television stations in a Wisconsin media market.” A press release explains:
Currently, Green Bay Packers fans in 12 Wisconsin border counties are assigned to an out-of-state, Minnesota TV market, which means many of these Wisconsin households could get the Minnesota Vikings game instead of the Packers game when the two teams play at the same time. Under the current schedule, the Packers and Vikings games are being broadcast on the same broadcast network at the same time in weeks 3, 14 and 17 of the NFL season, meaning Wisconsin viewers in a Minnesota-based TV market will see the Vikings game on their local TV station. Impacted Wisconsin counties in the Duluth-Superior media market include Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron and Sawyer. In the Twin Cities media market, Burnett, Washburn, Polk, Barron, St. Croix, Dunn and Pierce counties are impacted.
While most people live in a local television market that is centered in their home state, some counties, particularly in border areas, have been placed in an out-of-state market and their residents receive out-of-state TV broadcasts as a result. In Wisconsin, nearly 400,000 people live in 13 counties that have been assigned to an out-of-state market. Florence County is in the Marquette, Michigan, TV market and two stations currently choose to broadcast Packers games.
Baldwin’s reform ensures that every Wisconsin cable or satellite subscriber who lives in these 13 counties has the choice of receiving an in-state broadcast for every major network, so they would always have access to Wisconsin-based programming like local news, weather, and sports, including Packers games.
“Every Packers fan across our state should be able to watch every Packers game,” Baldwin says in the press release. “My Go Pack Go Act would give Packers fans in every Wisconsin county the opportunity to receive in-state broadcasts, so they can cheer on our beloved green and gold.”
Not since Baldwin sipped a Spotted Cow on Late Night With Seth Meyers has the senator done something that everyone could get behind—though we’re sure the usual suspects will complain anyway. See you on Sunday for the first game and our first Halftime Show at Cactus Club!
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