RightNetwork is a start-up American television network

Television network

A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

 promoted by American actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 and comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer

Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...

. The target audience is conservative "Americans who are looking for content that reflects and reinforces their perspective and world-view." Promotional materials indicate that the all-original content will be entertainment programming with "pro-America," "pro-business," and "pro-military" perspectives. The network announced on Aug. 16th 2010 that it would launch nationwide on Sept. 8th 2010.

Programming

In a video clip available on the network's website and on YouTube, Grammer explained "There's wrong, and there's right, right network, all that's right with the world." The network had a target launch date of summer 2010, and became available through on-demand cable offerings, online and mobile phones. According to AOL News, as an on-demand offering, RightNetwork is not able to initially attract an audience as large as the audiences for traditional cable networks.

While the network's Web site or Facebook page doesn't specifically say conservatives, it's clearly designed for folks who might be upset with today's government. One of the RightNetwork shows is called "Running," which Grammer described as a reality show following six political rookies running for the first time. The theme through the promotional clip is that these folks are running against "polished politicians."

Another show is called "Evan Sayet's Right 2 Laugh," a comedy show that "proves funny people and funny things come from both sides of the aisle," Grammer said in a clip. However, the jokes in the clip are anti-President Obama. Sayet, a conservative comic and commentator, says he started the show because, there "weren't many voices for the right values coming from the comedic side."

The network will also feature "Politics and Poker" with special guests that include new-media star Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...

, and is funded by Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 owner Ed Snider

Ed Snider

Edward M. Snider is the American Chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, the Wells Fargo Center, the Spectrum, the regional sports network Comcast SportsNet and Global Spectrum, an international facilities...

.

Current line-up

• The Horsemen Flight Team
• Do As I Say
• Talk Back on Economics
• Uncommon Knowledge
• Five 4 Friday with David Brody
• Free To Choose
  Free to Choose
  Free to Choose is a book and a ten-part television series broadcast on public television by economists Milton and Rose D...
  
  
• Whaddya Know Joe?
• Politics & Poker
• Ideas In Action with Jim Glassman
• Evan Sayet's Right2Laugh
• Moving Numbers

Reactions and controversy

Shortly after announcement of the new network, MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 political commentator Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann

Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...

 featured RightNetwork first on the "World's Worst" segment of Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...

, and Joy Behar

Joy Behar

Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...

, best known as co-host of ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's The View, also mentioned RightNetwork on her own CNN Headline News show; Yahoo.com described it as "a case study of effective viral marketing."

Business relations

Early blog reports indicating that RightNetwork was developed as a "partner" of Comcast Corporation were erroneous. After the intended launch date was announced in April 2010, the progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

 online news blog Huffington Post published a story calling RightNetwork "Tea Party TV" (a reference to the Tea Party movement

Tea Party movement

The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...

), and titled its story, "RightNetwork Launching in 2010 With Comcast As Partner."

A Comcast spokesperson quickly announced that while Comcast had met with RightNetwork representatives, as it has with hundred of other content providers, "We have no partnership with this venture and have no plans to launch or distribute the network." The spokesperson concluded by saying, "We do carry a number of independent networks on Comcast representing a wide variety of interests and diverse viewpoints."

Carriers

RightNetwork can currently be found on the On Demand systems of Verizon FiOS, Sky Angel IPTV, & Blue Ridge Cable.