RightNetwork was a start-up American

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television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

promoted by American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, producer and comedian

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

. The target audience was

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

"Americans who are looking for content that reflects and reinforces their perspective and world-view." Promotional materials indicated that the all-original content would 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. The network ceased operations less than one year later.

History

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 AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

, 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 was 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."

Due to lack of funding and distribution, the RightNetwork ceased operations, as of September 2011.

Reactions and controversy

Shortly after announcement of the new network, MSNBC's then-political commentator

Keith Olbermann Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and r ...

featured RightNetwork first on the "World's Worst" segment of ''

Countdown with Keith Olbermann ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show presented five selected news stories o ...

,'' and comedian Joy Behar, best known as co-host of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' The View'', also mentioned RightNetwork on her former CNN Headline News show;

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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 Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

were erroneous. After the intended launch date was announced in April 2010, the progressive online news blog ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' published a story calling RightNetwork "Tea Party TV" (a reference to the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defi ...

), 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."

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rightnetwork Conservative media in the United States Libertarianism in the United States