Ahead of the Packers’ season opener, Congressman Tony Wied and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced a bipartisan bill that will ensure Wisconsinites are able to watch Green Bay Packers games no matter where they reside in the state.
The Go Pack Go Act will ensure that Wisconsinites have access to Green Bay Packers games even if they are in an “out-of-market” county.
“Nothing brings Wisconsinites together quite like the Packers,” says Wied. “The Go Pack Go Act is about making sure every Packers fan, from Douglas to Door County, can watch their team without being forced to endure Vikings or Lions broadcasts. I’m happy to join Senator Baldwin to lead this common sense, bipartisan legislation. If you live in the land of Lambeau, you deserve to see the Green and Gold every Sunday. No exceptions.”
In Wisconsin, more than 415,000 people live in 13 counties assigned to an out-of-state market, in either Minnesota or Michigan. As a result, Wisconsinites in these counties cannot receive some, or any, TV broadcast stations based in Wisconsin. These Wisconsin residents may therefore lack access to programming most relevant to their Wisconsin communities – such as local news, information about local and state governments, and sports. This means Green Bay Packers fans in 13 Wisconsin counties may end up with Minnesota Vikings or Detroit Lions games, not Packers games, when those teams are playing at the same time.
“Regardless of where you live, every Wisconsinite should be able to cheer on the Green and Gold,” says Baldwin. “But right now, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites live in communities where they could get Vikings or Lions games broadcast on their TVs instead of Packers games. It’s wrong, and that’s why I’m fighting to fix it so every Packers fan across our state can watch our team play.”
On November 2nd, the Packers, Vikings, and Lions are all slated to play at the same time and on the same network. That means Wisconsinites on the Minnesota border may be stuck with the Vikings and those on the Michigan border with the Lions instead of the Packers. The Go Pack Go Act would require cable and satellite providers to provide their Wisconsin subscribers with access to programming from broadcast television stations in a Wisconsin media market. These local broadcasts may be more relevant to their daily lives and help them stay informed and entertained by Wisconsin-focused programming, including Packers games.
Packers’ fans in the following Wisconsin counties would benefit from the Go Pack Go Act: Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Iron, and Sawyer Counties in the Duluth-Superior media market; Barron, Burnett, Dunn Polk, Pierce, St. Croix, and Washburn Counties in the Twin Cities media market; and Florence County in the Marquette, Michigan media market.
