History of PewDiePie vs T-Series in Timeline

The "PewDiePie vs T-Series" rivalry was a significant online event centered around two YouTube channels vying for the most subscribers. T-Series, having held the most-viewed channel title since 2017, began to approach PewDiePie's subscriber count in late 2018, igniting the competition. PewDiePie had held the most-subscribed title since 2013, making this a battle for YouTube supremacy.

2000: India's Internet Growth Begins

In 2000, India had only 20 million people with internet access, marking the beginning of the country's digital revolution.

August 2013: PewDiePie Becomes Most-Subscribed YouTube Channel

In August 2013, PewDiePie became the most-subscribed YouTube channel, marking the beginning of his reign.

August 2013: PewDiePie's Reign Begins

PewDiePie's channel became the most subscribed on YouTube on August 15, 2013, a position he held until February 22, 2019.

February 2017: T-Series Becomes Most-Viewed YouTube Channel

In February 2017, T-Series reached a significant milestone by becoming the most-viewed YouTube channel.

August 2018: PewDiePie Posts "this channel will overtake PewDiePie"

PewDiePie posted a video in August 2018 titled "this channel will overtake PewDiePie" in which he jokingly encouraged his followers to rally against T-Series, referencing the KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing match.

September 2018: T-Series President Addresses Subscriber Race

In September 2018, T-Series president Neeraj Kalyan stated that it would be a source of pride for India when T-Series became the world's biggest YouTube channel. He also asserted that no amount of spamming could stop the power of good music and acknowledged that the subscriber race had increased T-Series's overseas viewership.

October 2018: PewDiePie Releases Diss Track "Bitch Lasagna"

In October 2018, PewDiePie collaborated with musician Party In Backyard on a diss track targeting T-Series called "Bitch Lasagna." The song's title referenced a viral Facebook message.

November 2018: PewDiePie Expresses Opinions on T-Series and YouTube

In November 2018, PewDiePie stated that he didn't really care about T-Series itself but felt that if YouTube became too corporate, something else would take its place. He also expressed that he felt YouTube did not support individual YouTubers enough. In an interview with Metro, he shared his surprise that no one had challenged T-Series's quest for the most-subscribed channel sooner.

November 2018: YouTubers Defend T-Series

In November 2018, several independent Indian YouTubers began announcing their support for T-Series, including Indian-Canadian comedian and YouTuber Jus Reign, who uploaded a video called "In Defense of T-Series".

November 2018: Fans in Dhaka Show Support

In November 2018, young fans in Dhaka, Bangladesh, showed their support for PewDiePie by distributing posters, an act he acknowledged in a video.

December 14, 2018: YouTube Removes Bot Subscribers

On December 14, 2018, YouTube took action to remove a significant number of bot and inactive accounts. This purge affected both PewDiePie and T-Series, with PewDiePie losing over 55,000 subscribers and T-Series losing over 220,000 subscribers.

December 2018: PewDiePie Fundraises for Child Rights and You

In December 2018, concerned by the anti-Indian sentiment from some of his fans, PewDiePie urged his viewers to support the Indian NGO Child Rights and You, raising £173,682.

December 2018: Diss Tracks Against PewDiePie

In December 2018, in response to PewDiePie's "Bitch Lasagna" diss track against T-Series, Indian YouTuber Asif Bantaye released his own Hindi-language diss track, "PENDUBHAI", targeting PewDiePie.

December 2018: Wall Street Journal Website Hacked

In December 2018, one of The Wall Street Journal's websites was hacked to display a message supporting PewDiePie and urging readers to subscribe to his channel.

December 2018: T-Series Chairman Unaware of PewDiePie

T-Series chairman Bhushan Kumar admitted in December of 2018 that he had not been aware of PewDiePie until a few months prior. He also shared that he was not concerned with the subscriber race and was confused as to why PewDiePie was taking it so seriously, denying that they were in competition.

2018: India's Internet Boom

By 2018, India experienced an internet boom, with the number of people with internet access skyrocketing to 560 million. This period also saw India becoming the world's second-largest mobile phone market.

2018: YouTube Rewind 2018 Backlash

The 2018 edition of YouTube Rewind, "Everyone Controls Rewind", faced significant criticism and became the most-disliked video on the platform. One reason for the negative response was the lack of coverage of the PewDiePie vs T-Series rivalry.

2018: Competition Heats Up

The competition between PewDiePie and T-Series intensified in late 2018 as T-Series' subscriber count got closer to PewDiePie's.

2018: The Rivalry Begins

The rivalry between PewDiePie and T-Series began in late 2018 as T-Series' subscriber count started approaching PewDiePie's.

January 2019: Hackers Target Printers and Devices

In January 2019, hackers targeted thousands of printers and Google Chromecast devices, urging users to subscribe to PewDiePie and improve their security settings. While some viewed these actions positively, one hacker expressed regret and fear of repercussions.

January 2019: CarryMinati Releases Diss Track "Bye PewDiePie"

On January 1st, 2019, Indian YouTuber CarryMinati released a diss track titled "Bye PewDiePie," which quickly gained almost 5 million views in 24 hours.

February 2019: Bhushan Kumar Acknowledges Increased Awareness of T-Series

By February 2019, however, The Washington Post reported that Bhushan Kumar had stated that because of the competition, everyone knew about T-Series. He acknowledged that if the company had become number one on its own, people would not be as aware of them.

February 2019: Mayor's Twitter Account Hacked

In February 2019, the Twitter account of Bob Buckhorn, the mayor of Tampa, Florida, was hacked, with one tweet encouraging users to subscribe to PewDiePie.

February 2019: Briefly Surpassed by T-Series

On February 22, 2019, T-Series briefly overtook PewDiePie as the most subscribed channel due to a YouTube audit. However, PewDiePie quickly regained the title after about 8 minutes.

February 2019: Parade in Tallinn Supports PewDiePie

On February 27, 2019, a parade in Tallinn, Estonia, saw hundreds of participants marching in support of PewDiePie, passing through the city center and Old Town.

February 2019: Basketball Cheerleaders Perform "Bitch Lasagna"

On February 27, 2019, cheerleaders for Basketball Club Žalgiris in Kaunas, Lithuania, performed to PewDiePie's "Bitch Lasagna" during a timeout.

February 2019: PewDiePie Live-Streams to Maintain Lead

On February 3rd, 2019, PewDiePie live-streamed himself playing Fortnite in an attempt to prevent T-Series from overtaking his subscriber count. He later did two more live streams playing Roblox and Minecraft minigames.

February 2019: T-Series Briefly Surpasses PewDiePie

Starting in February 2019, T-Series began surpassing PewDiePie's subscriber count on several occasions, marking a turning point in the rivalry.

March 2019: T-Series Chairman Appeals to Indians

In March 2019, Bhushan Kumar, the chairman of T-Series, posted a video on Twitter urging Indians to subscribe to the T-Series YouTube channel. He called it a historic movement and urged people to make India proud by helping T-Series become the world's biggest YouTube channel.

March 2019: "Subscribe to PewDiePie" Vandalism

In March 2019, there were a couple of instances where PewDiePie fans vandalized property to promote his channel. The Brooklyn War Memorial was vandalized with pro-PewDiePie graffiti, which the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation said they would remove. Additionally, "SUB 2 pewdiepie" was written on a school's property in Oxford, United Kingdom.

March 2019: Moscow Rally for Internet Freedom

On March 10, 2019, a rally advocating for internet freedom took place in Moscow, organized by the Libertarian Party of Russia. Protesters played "Bitch Lasagna" and displayed signs urging support for PewDiePie.

March 2019: "Zero Deaths" Game Released

On March 12, 2019, indie game developer Thomas Brush released "Zero Deaths" on itch.io, a game inspired by the PewDiePie vs T-Series rivalry. The post-apocalyptic game features PewDiePie defending his wife, Marzia Bisognin, from "sub bots."

March 2019: PewCrypt Ransomware Emerges

On March 22, 2019, ransomware called PewCrypt emerged, encrypting files on Windows computers. The attacker claimed to release a decryption key when PewDiePie reached 100 million subscribers but threatened to delete it if T-Series reached the milestone first.

March 2019: T-Series' First Five-Day Reign

On March 27, 2019, T-Series became the most-subscribed YouTube channel for five consecutive days, marking a significant lead over PewDiePie.

March 2019: T-Series Surpasses PewDiePie, Prompting New Goal and Diss Track

T-Series surpassed PewDiePie on March 27th, 2019, after which PewDiePie said the "winner" would be whoever reached 100 million subscribers first. He released another diss track on March 31st, 2019, titled "Congratulations", featuring RoomieOfficial and Boyinaband, which sarcastically congratulated T-Series while critiquing them. This allowed him to regain the top spot, for a time.

March 2019: Christchurch Mosque Shootings

Tragically, in a horrific event in March 2019, the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings shouted "Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie" on his livestream of the event. PewDiePie was horrified by this and said that the "Subscribe to PewDiePie" meme should have ended at that point.

April 2019: T-Series Takes Legal Action Against PewDiePie's Diss Tracks

In April 2019, T-Series filed a complaint with the Delhi High Court seeking to remove PewDiePie's diss tracks, alleging they were defamatory and offensive. The court ruled in favor of T-Series, leading to the diss tracks being blocked in India.

April 2019: PewDiePie's Name Used in Poway Synagogue Shooting

In April 2019, the perpetrator of the Poway synagogue shooting also mentioned PewDiePie, falsely alleging that PewDiePie planned and financed the shooting. PewDiePie stated that he was sickened by the Christchurch shooter using his name and expressed his sympathy for the victims.

April 2019: T-Series Takes the Lead

On April 14, 2019, T-Series permanently surpassed PewDiePie in subscribers, solidifying its position as the leading channel.

April 2019: PewDiePie Calls for Peace, T-Series Wins

On April 28, 2019, PewDiePie released a video urging his supporters to stop their efforts to keep him as the most subscribed channel. With T-Series holding a significant lead, the competition was widely considered over, with T-Series emerging as the victor.

April 2019: PewDiePie Asks Viewers to End "Subscribe to PewDiePie"

On April 28th, 2019, PewDiePie asked his fans to stop the "Subscribe to PewDiePie" meme, saying he wanted it to end with the same love and support with which it started. He also discussed the negative mental impact the Christchurch shooter's mention of his name had had on him, stating that he didn't want to give the terrorist more attention but it was clear the movement should have ended.

April 2019: "Subscribe to PewDiePie" Plane Banner

On April 29, 2019, a plane flew over New York City trailing a banner that read "Subscribe to PewDiePie." The event, live-streamed by PewDiePie, was crowdfunded by his fans and seen as a symbolic conclusion to the rivalry.

May 2019: T-Series Hits 100 Million Subscribers

On May 29, 2019, T-Series reached 100 million subscribers, further cementing its victory in the rivalry.

August 2019: T-Series and PewDiePie Settle Legal Dispute

In August 2019, reports emerged that T-Series and PewDiePie had resolved their legal issues outside of court, bringing an end to the controversy surrounding the diss tracks.

October 2019: UKIP Expresses Support for PewDiePie

In October 2019, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) publicly announced their support for PewDiePie in a tweet. While acknowledging the peculiarity of a political party engaging in an internet meme, PewDiePie distanced himself from their political stance.

2019: Analysis of the Christchurch Shooter's Motivations

Following the Christchurch shooting in 2019, analysts, such as Kevin Roose of The New York Times, speculated that the perpetrator may have mentioned "subscribe to PewDiePie" to incite a blame game and further political division. News18 reported on a tweet that cautioned that the shooter likely intended for people who already disliked PewDiePie to blame him instead of focusing on the perpetrator's actions.

August 2023: MrBeast Enters the Race

On August 5, 2023, YouTuber MrBeast hinted at joining the race for the most subscribed YouTube channel, tweeting "I'm doing this for Pewdiepie" and showcasing the subscriber gap between his channel and T-Series.

October 2023: T-Series Continues to Grow

As of October 2023, T-Series has uploaded over 20,000 videos on its main channel, consistently releasing new content.

May 2024: T-Series Remains Most Subscribed, PewDiePie Slips to Eighth

As of May 2024, T-Series maintains its position as the most subscribed YouTube channel with over 265 million subscribers. In contrast, PewDiePie has dropped to eighth place with 111.1 million subscribers, having been surpassed by channels like MrBeast, Cocomelon, and others.

2024: MrBeast on Track to Surpass T-Series

As of May 21, 2024, T-Series leads MrBeast by 6.4 million subscribers. However, projections indicate that MrBeast is on track to overtake T-Series by mid-June 2024, potentially igniting another subscriber race.