Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco’s takeover of SiriusXM’s Raw Comedy channel has sparked backlash from fellow comics, who claim it’s harming up-and-coming talent. Many established comedians, including Patton Oswalt and Margaret Cho, have called for Maniscalco to highlight newer voices, rather than focusing on well-known ones.

SiriusXM launched Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio in April, curated and headlined by the comedian himself, replacing the Raw Comedy channel. Critics argue that this move has narrowed the pool of artists featured, with Stand Up for Standup reporting that the channel now highlights only 275 artists, predominantly celebrities.

“We believe this shift is bad for comedians and the future of comedy,” says Stand Up for Standup. The organization points out that since March, the visibility and royalties for up-and-coming comedians have decreased significantly.

Established comedians such as Patton Oswalt and Liz Miele have called on Maniscalco to reverse the decision, emphasizing the importance of supporting new talent. Oswalt stated, “500 of them have been booted off of Sirius… You can easily reverse this decision. Get those young comedians back on the Sirius channel.”

SiriusXM, however, maintains that Maniscalco’s channel introduced a new creative direction and a regularly evolving programming mix, investing in comedians more than any other audio platform.