Sebastian Maniscalco took charge of SiriusXM’s Raw Comedy channel, replacing the long-running program. SiriusXM launched Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio in April.
SiriusXM claims that Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio is “curated and headlined by Sebastian himself”. The move, according to SiriusXM, “introduced a new creative direction and a regularly evolving programming mix for the channel”.
Dan Soder noted that the content features “very famous comics who are dead or who don’t necessarily need the money”. A report from Stand Up for Standup documented the channel’s departure from showcasing emerging talent.
Since March, Stand Up for Standup observed that the number of artists featured on Maniscalco’s channels dropped from over 800 comics to just 275 artists. Patton Oswalt stated, “There’s a lot of up-and-coming comedians who are depending on the money and the checks that they get from Sirius”.
Oswalt further suggested, “But 500 of them have been booted off of Sirius… You can easily reverse this decision. Get those young comedians back on the Sirius channel. Let them get those checks.” SiriusXM also asserted that it “continues to invest in comedians more than any other audio platform”.
