It's safe to say that comedian Sebastian Maniscalco isn't popular right now among his fellow comics. Changes to his SiriusXM channel prompted complaints that hundreds of performers were losing airtime and income.
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"I just ask that you give me a little time, guys," he said in an Instagram Story posted Wednesday. "I just got here, and I needed a little time to build out the channel. So I just want to let you know that I heard you, and just give me some time and be patient. And I think you'll like the result. God bless everyone."
SiriusXM replaced Raw Comedy with Sebastian Maniscalco's Comedy Radio. The channel has been proven to be controversial since it launched in April. Comedians feel blocked out by the new channel, unable to get on the platform as easily as before.
Comedian Responds
Advocacy group Stand Up for Standup reported that the number of comedians receiving plays fell from 812 in April to 275 in September, a decline of roughly 66%. Its analysis, using XMPlaylist data, found that monthly plays stayed relatively steady while the selection of performers narrowed.
The group criticized the comedian for costing his fellow comics both exposure as well as royalities that they need for their careers. SiriusXM responded to the controversy as well.
"While the challenges facing working comedians are bigger than any one person or decision, we remain committed, as we have for more than two decades, to making SiriusXM a place where comedians at every stage of their careers can be heard," the company's statement continued.
Meanwhile, the comedian says that he didn't play a part in the decision to get rid of Raw Comedy. He promised to include comedians from all stages of their careers.
Comedian Patton Oswald called out the platform for the changes.
"The fact that you and I still get to a tour and still get to work and still get to be as funny as we are is because comedy right now is so dynamic and has so many new young voices that are coming up," Oswalt said.
"But 500 of them have been booted off of Sirius," he continued. "You can easily reverse this decision. Get those young comedians back on the Sirius channel, let them get those checks, let them keep working, let them keep coming up; it keeps us working."
