Cable and satellite subscribers in thirteen northern and western Wisconsin counties — including Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Dunn, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix, and Washburn — would gain the right to request in-state Wisconsin network TV signals instead of the out-of-state stations currently assigned to them as their default local market. Many of these border-area households are technically grouped into Minnesota, Michigan, or Illinois broadcast markets and can't access Wisconsin network affiliates, including Green Bay Packers game broadcasts, through their cable or satellite provider. Subscribers could choose to keep their current out-of-state signal, switch to the in-state Wisconsin signal, or receive both at once. Cable and satellite companies would be required to honor that choice, and existing retransmission-consent and copyright rules would be adjusted so providers aren't penalized for carrying the extra in-state channel.
Congressional Summary
Go Pack Go Act of 2025This bill requires cable and satellite television providers to make Wisconsin-based television programming available to subscribers in counties assigned to out-of-state television markets.U.S. counties are assigned to geographic television markets, and television providers are generally required to provide subscribers with programming local to their assigned market. Counties on state borders are sometimes assigned to out-of-state markets; subscribers in those counties often receive out-of-state programming (e.g., out-of-state news and sports).Under the bill, a cable or satellite television provider must offer subscribers in specified Wisconsin counties with the choice of (1) programming local to the subscriber's assigned market that the provider is currently required to retransmit, (2) Wisconsin-based adjacent-market programming, or (3) both.The bill also establishes that the provision of Wisconsin-based programming to subscribers who have elected it fulfills certain statutory coverage obligations applicable to providers.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-09-04
- Date Added
- 2026-07-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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