Just in time for the fall elections, RightNetwork -- a Kelsey Grammer backed cable network “with entertainment designed to appeal to political conservatives” -- has launched.

Unlike many cable networks however, RightNetwork will begin as a paid “on-demand” service rather than a basic cable enterprise like BRAVO or a stand-alone paid premium network like HBO.

The network's first series will follow “a couple of Tea Party-backed candidates for public office.”

Media Matters previously noted, the network will also host Right 2 Laugh a comedy program “for people who…don't want to hear their president called a Nazi.” The show will have to do better than Fox News' 1/2 Hour News Hour, which was canceled shortly after launching.

AP's David Bauder reports:

Jeff Cohen, an Ithaca College journalism professor and liberal activist, questioned whether the kind of audience that likes conservative talk shows want something similar in entertainment, and whether it can be pulled off.

“Comedy requires irony,” Cohen said. “It can't be frothing with hate or fear. Drama requires complexity. It can't be all black and white.”

While Grammer narrates a programming highlight reel available on RightNetwork's website, he hasn't participated as an actor or producer in any of the network's programming. The only other investor the privately held company has identified is Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast-Spectacor and owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers.

Snider's involvement led to initial false reports this spring that Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable company, was a backer of RightNetwork. However, the network doesn't even have a deal to distribute its programming through Comcast, which aggressively markets video-on-demand offerings. So far, Verizon FiOS subscribers are the only customers who can access the shows on demand, McFeeley said. Similarly, Nokia is the only mobile phone outlet.

It illustrates the huge challenge RightNetwork faces in trying to build its brand at a time cable and satellite companies have little space to offer new networks, said Derek Baine, a senior analyst at SNL Kagan. Only the Anime Network, which had some limited success with a specialized lineup of Japanese animation, and Fearnet, which offers horror films and has the backing of Comcast and movie distributor Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., have tried the video-on-demand model to start, he said.

Previously:

• RightNetwork's Right 2 Laugh: “for people who…don't want to hear their president called a Nazi”
• Flyers' owner cross-checks Fox with plan for rival right-wing cable net