T-Series and MrBeast in Nail-Biting Battle For YouTube Supremacy

The race to become the most-subscribed channel on YouTube just got steamier, with reigning star T-Series putting out a video, tugging at Indian hearts to keep it miles ahead of nearest competitor, MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson. MrBeast is within sniping distance of T-Series’ 261 million fans, he’s just 11 million followers away as you read this.

T-Series rallies its base

On April 15, T-Series, currently led by Bhushan Kumar, uploaded a video urging its fans to come together and help it retain its supremacy on social media platform YouTube. Asking people to subscribe to the channel not just to watch music videos and film clips but to come together as a ‘family’, it also made a tacit appeal to nationalist sentiment.

The rise and rise of MrBeast

Till 2019, the crown belonged to Swedish gamer PewDiePie, but T-Series surpassed him after a dramatic battle, in which MrBeast sided with PewDiePie. MrBeast was hardly known at the time, but the YouTube subscriber race turned in his favour, making it his launch pad as it brought him instant stardom. In 2022, Donaldson surpassed PewDiePie’s numbers, and he had then vowed to catch up with T-Series as well. That mark is now within his sights.

The gap has been shortening and while T-Series has added about 23 million new subscribers in the last one year, MrBeast has not been idling – he added 105 million news subscribers on his primary YouTube channel.

The countdown begins

It now appears that the MrBeast threat is very real and T-Series has decided to pull up its socks for the challenge. MrBeast could soon become the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, but T-Series isn’t about to give up without a fight. Last year, MrBeast sent out a message for his Indian fans. “I love my fans from India and this has nothing to do with countries,” he tweeted. “I just want to be #1 most subscribed.”

With the upcoming sub race with T-Series I just want to make clear I love my fans from India and this has nothing to do with countries, I just want to be #1 most subscribed haha pic.twitter.com/gtbFz9dKKU

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) November 16, 2023

In the video put out by T-Series this week, however, it is clear that the music behemoth has no intention of letting go of the crown. You can see T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar (who passed away in 1997) exhorting viewers to ‘come, take my hand, let us work together to make my dream, become your dream, may our dream become a reality’.

‘From the heartwarming music to the breathtaking displays of national pride, our channel T-series is a sanctuary for those who cherish the values that define music. But our journey is far from over. We are on a mission to build a community that stands as a beacon for music lovers. A place where every beat is heard, and every heart beats as one. you are an essential part of this journey. By subscribing to T-series, you are not just joining a channel, you are becoming a vital member of our musical family. Let’s make history together’. says the video, unambiguously setting out its agenda.

The transcript to the video reads – TO ALL THOSE WHO FIND SOLACE, JOY, AND INSPIRATION IN MUSIC, AND TO OUR FELLOW INDIANS BROTHERS & SISTERS. LET’S UNITE TOGETHER AND CREATE A HISTORY OF EMOTIONS, MEMORIES, AND DREAMS TOGETHER. SUBSCRIBE, AND LET’S EMBARK ON THIS BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY AS ONE UNITED FAMILY.

There’s already a website that’s live tracking the fierce competition between T-Series and MrBeast, although the content generated by either is poles apart. T-Series has now taken the race to another level, by appealing to nationalist pride of Indians. It’s now just a matter of days, probably hours. Stay tuned!