If you don’t live in the world of YouTube and gaming you may have no idea of the intense war going on between two channels hoping to secure the most subscribers on earth.
Felix Kjellberg, known online as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber, previously known for Let’s Play videos.
His YouTube channel has had more subscribers than any other YouTube channel since August 2013.
But that lead has been seriously challenged for months by T-Series, an Indian music record label and film production company.
T-Series has been the most-viewed and second most-subscribed channel since early 2018.
Now the margin is neck-and-neck, with Kjellberg barely holding the lead.
The company’s ascent has shocked the tight-knit community of online personalities, prompting many to rally behind PewDiePie and delay T-Series’ ascent.
Longtime YouTubers like Markiplier, Logan Paul and Jacksepticeye have scrambled to delay the defenestration of their idol, posting critical comments about T-Series videos and opening up new accounts to boost his totals.
Jacksepticeye, who is 29 year old Irish YouTube personality Seán McLoughlin, went live on his channel Wednesday in an attempt to save PewDiePie, just as the gap between Pewds and T-Series lessened to a mere 13,000 subscriber difference.
At one point, McLoughlin threatened to “delete my channel” if T-Series overtakes PewDiePie.
Perhaps said in jest, it nonetheless points out how seriously longtime YouTubers like Jacksepticeye are taking the coming reality.
“For every bit the sub gap grows, my beard gets bigger and stronger,” he joked. “You guys have the power to really make a change.”
McLoughlin, like Markiplier before him, declared it a ‘red alert’.
WATCH JACKSEPTICEYE’S PLEA HERE:
Ultimately, Jacksepticeye helped PewDiePie get 50,000 new subscribers.
Kjellberg is no stranger to controversy, and some in the online community find it difficult to support him.
He once recommended a YouTube channel that featured Nazi imagery and anti-Semitic stance.
He has also produced homophobic videos in the past, and some of his backers have had a racial tinge, like one from MrBeast, who bought ads and billboards that said, ‘‘Calling all Bros! You Can Save YouTube.’’
But many see this as the final, ultimate showdown between corporate interests and an individual entertainer.
More than half of the 10 most popular channels on YouTube in terms of monthly views are from outside the U.S., and many of them belong to professional media companies.
YouTube’s previous champions have been young, male amateurs like the video blogger Ray William Johnson and comedy duo Smosh.
But after years as a mostly Western site for pranks and cat clips, the Google-owned company has lured most of the world’s largest media giants to the site, blurring the line between professional and amateur.
The interest in the ongoing battle is now actually reported in real time.
FlareTV has a livestream on the subscriber count of both channels: