This 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.