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PewDiePie vs T-Series: Fans hire billboards in desperate bid to keep channel most popular on YouTube

The massive popularity of T-Series has proven controversial among some YouTubers

Anthony Cuthbertson

Monday 29 October 2018 14:01 GMT

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PewDiePie vs T-Series: fans hire billboards in bid to keep channel most popular on YouTube

A Bollywood record label that is predicted to become the world's most popular YouTube channel is facing a fight from devoted fans of the reigning holder.

PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is rallying his legions of followers to keep him as the platform's most-subscribed channel – an honour he has held since 2013.

With 68 million subscribers, PewDiePie holds a slim margin over T-Series, the Indian record label that was expected to dethrone him.

Data from analytics firm Tubular Labs suggested the takeover would take place on Monday, 29 October. But in the days since the prediction was made, PewDiePie has seen a surge of new subscribers.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Show all 11

1/1111 YouTube features you didn't know existed

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Play in the background

One of the YouTube app’s most frustrating shortcomings is the inability to play music videos in the background or when you’re phone’s locked. There is a way around this, but only on iOS. Open the YouTube website in Safari, play a video and then press your iPhone’s home button. After that, launch the Control Centre by sliding up from the bottom of the screen and tap play.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Loop videos

YouTube’s looping option on desktop is really useful, but nowhere near as easy to find as it should be. To loop a video, right-click it while it’s playing and select Loop. Even if you have Autoplay enabled, your video will replay itself as soon as it finishes.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Enable Dark Theme

YouTube recently introduced a black-and-red Dark Theme on the desktop, which is much easier on your eyes than the regular version of the site. Enable it by clicking the account symbol, selecting Dark Theme and turning Activate Dark Theme on.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Simplify YouTube

Another alternative YouTube user interface is available to access at youtube.com/tv. It’s a really simple, no-frills UI that’s incredibly easy to navigate.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Try out new features

You can test upcoming and experimental features early by signing up to YouTube TestTube.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Read

When you want to watch a YouTube video but don’t have your headphones and don’t want to disturb anyone around you, turn on Captions. They’re also really handy if you’re trying to watch a video in a foreign language. Transcriptions, meanwhile, break down exactly when certain things take place, so you can skip to the part you want to watch accurately and easily. In the More tab under the video title, launch the dropdown menu and select Transcript.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Use shortcuts

You can lean back in your seat and control YouTube videos with your keyboard if you want to. J and L let you rewind and fast-forward 10 seconds, K is pause/play, M is mute/unmute and the 0-9 keys let you jump through various stages of the video, from 0 per cent to 90 per cent. On the app, you can fast forward or rewind 10 seconds by double-tapping the right or left side of a video.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Limit data use

If you’re on a limited mobile data plan, there are easy ways to save yourself some money. In Settings on the YouTube app, hit General and enable Limit Mobile Data Usage and disable Autoplay.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Keep things private

Unless you make them private, other people can see your Liked videos, your saved playlists and subscriptions. If you want to hide them, go to Settings and Privacy. You can also clear or pause your History. On either desktop or the mobile app, go to History and select Clear All Watch History or Pause Watch History.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Make sharing clearer

Sometimes you want to share a video with a friend, but want them to watch a specific part, rather than the whole thing. Instead of sending the timestamp through as a separate message, make the video automatically play from the right place. Just pause it at the right moment, click the Share button, tick the Start At box and copy the URL.

11 YouTube features you didn't know existed

Get nerdy

Stats for Nerds shows you technical data for YouTube videos, including video format, audio format and bandwidth. On desktop, you can find the info simply by right-clicking the video player and selecting Stats for Nerds. On mobile, you have to enable it first in General Settings. Once that’s done, open a video, hit the menu button in the top-right corner and tap the Stats for Nerds option.

T-Series' popularity has proven controversial among some YouTubers, given that it is a major corporate brand that will replace PewDiePie. One supporter in particular has been leading the fight for PewDiePie, with a campaign designed to keep him as the top channel.

"I bought a bunch of billboards, went on TV, did radio ads, bought bathroom ads and much more to try and stop T-Series from passing PewDiePie in subscribers," a YouTuber by the name of MrBeast said in a video describing his efforts.

"T-Series is growing four-times faster than PewDiePie and if I don't do anything PewDiePie won't be the number one most-subscribed-to YouTuber in the world. Therefore, I spent all my money on ads so he can remain as the number one most-subscribed-to channel in the world."

One billboard bought for the campaign states: "Calling all bros! You can save YouTube. Subscribe to PewDiePie. Unsubscribe to T-Series."

A billboard used in MrBeast's PewDiePie campaign (MrBeast/ YouTube)

PewDiePie himself claims to not care if he is overtaken by T-Series, however he asked his Twitter followers on Sunday: "Are you doing your part?"

In an earlier video addressing the growth of the T-Series channel, PewDiePie said the takeover would represent a perceived shift in YouTube's support of independent creators in recent years.

"It's already a heated subject now that a company is taking over. Everyone is going on the rant, 'YouTube is not really becoming YouTube' and, 'it's never going to be the same now'," he said.

PewDiePie answered questions about T-Series on his YouTube channel this week (PewDiePie/ Screenshot)

"I don't really care about T-Series, I genuinely don't, but I think if YouTube does shift in a way where it does feel more corporate, [then] something else will take its place. I think people enjoy this connection so much, I think something else will just show up, if it feels too corporate."

He concluded: "I think what bother me more than things becoming too corporate is YouTubers shilling corporates, if that makes sense. YouTubers just buying into this image that companies want them to be for the sake of being lifted up by them. I mean it's a great business move, and I totally understand why anyone would do it, but to me it's inauthentic."

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