PewDiePie passes 80 million YouTube subscribers amid T-Series battle

The title for the world's most popular YouTube channel isn't changing hands just yet

Swedish YouTube star PewDiePie has become the first channel to pass 80 million subscribers, beating controversial Indian channel T-Series to the landmark.

PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, has held the top spot on the video-sharing platform since 2013 but has faced competition from T-Series in recent months.

The Indian channel, which posts Bollywood film trailers and music videos, was originally predicted to overtake PewDiePie's subscriber count last October, however a campaign by PewDiePie supporters has helped keep him at the number one spot.

Some PewDiePie fans have gone to extreme measures to prevent T-Series from taking over, including a guerilla advertising campaign and hijacking printers and Google Chromecasts to promote his channel.

T-Series' popularity has risen in tandem with India's growing online population, but its rise has proved controversial within some corners of the YouTube community.

The battle has been billed as a David vs Goliath-style contest, given that it is a major corporate brand that is threatening to dethrone an independent creator.

The potential takeover is seen as a shift in YouTube's focus towards larger corporate channels that can help drive advertising revenue to the platform.

PewDiePie addressed this perceived shift in a recent Q&A session with his subscribers.

"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.

"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."

PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, has been the most popular channel on YouTube since 2013 (Getty Images)

PewDiePie has attracted his own controversy during his reign as YouTube's most popular channel.

Last month he was criticised for inadvertently promoting a video made by a YouTuber that had previously posted antisemitic content, leading to the channel receiving 15,000 new subscribers.

He later apologised for giving attention to the channel.