The Power of Community: PewDiePie vs T-Series

The most subscribed channel on YouTube and a popular vlogger, PewDiePie, is close to losing his crown as the most subscribed to YouTube channel as Indian channel T-Series catches up with him.

To millions, it is hugely important – so much so that one ardent PewDiePie fan hacked into 50,000 printers worldwide to spread the word about his channel and the race to keep him at the top.

@pewdiepie this just came through the ticket printer for the police station next door #savepewdiepie pic.twitter.com/7cGX3VmUIt

— Danny Boitano (@TFGHighlights) November 27, 2018

What you Need to Know

PewDiePie is a Swedish vlogger whose real name is Felix Kjellberg. He has held the crown of most subscribed-to channel for nearly five years.

He posts gaming videos, vlogs and general chat under the PewDiePie name, but has garnered controversy in the past over some of his content.

His battle against T-Series has been described as “David vs Goliath” since the Indian channel is the product of a company which posts Bollywood trailers and songs in a country of 1.3 billion people.

T-Series is a massive brand in India that has been running since the 1980s. “The problem for PewDiePie is that he simply can’t keep up with the machine that the T-Series YouTube channel,” wrote Matt Binder on tech site Mashable. “The YouTube channel for the Bollywood music giant grows at close to 145,000 subscribers per day.

What’s the score?

Both currently have over 73 million subscribers, but online tracking tool Social Blade documents that the gap between the two is closing to under 500,000.

The tool updates every second and is currently being streamed on YouTube, recording that T-Series racks up more than 150,000 new subscribers a day and PewDiePie just over 140,000.

The Power of Community

Let’s face it, sooner or later, PewDiePie will lose the top spot. However, the power and incredible engagement of the community gathered around him is keeping him at the top. When it looked like it was the day when T-series will overcome him, he suddenly gained an additional half a million subscribers thanks to the community that has been spamming every corner of the internet, but also thanks to other popular YouTubers who have also supported PewDiePie and asked their followers to subscribe. #savepewdiepie has been trending hashtag for longer than anyone has expected.

Can you imagine having a community that would be so fierce in supporting you and your company to become or stay the best? Try proving yourself worthy by winning an award that proves your devotion to the customer experience.
UK Digital Experience Awards are about to be open, register your interest for UK DXA 2019 and enjoy the benefits for early entering.