MUMBAI, Nov 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Bollywood music giant is on course to
overtake controversial Swedish vlogger PewDiePie at the top of the YouTube
channel subscribers chart in the coming days in a new landmark for India’s
digital rise.
T-Series will become the first non-English-language channel to hold top
spot on the world’s most popular video platform as smartphone ownership soars
in the country of 1.25 billion people.
“We’re very excited, for the organisation and for India. An Indian channel
becoming number one is a big compliment for the entire country,” T-Series
chairman Bhushan Kumar told AFP.
Few outside the Indian diaspora will know T-Series’ typically upbeat song
and dance videos, but they are already the most-watched on YouTube.
They have been seen more than 53 billion times, again beating PewDiePie —
whose videos have notched just over 19 billion views — as well as Justin
Bieber and Taylor Swift.
The Swede, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, has had the highest number
of subscribers for five years during which he has regularly been in hot water
over his videos.
In September last year he apologised after he was heard using a racial slur
in an expletive-laden rant against an opponent while playing a live-streamed
computer game.
Earlier in 2017 he lost contracts with YouTube and Disney over anti-Semitic
comments. He was temporarily blocked from Twitter in 2016 after joking he had
joined the Islamic State group.
– ‘World recognition’ –
With T-Series rapidly closing in, fans of the Swedish gamer have rallied to
push up his subscriber numbers in recent days but that will likely only delay
the inevitable.
On Thursday both had over 71 million subscribers. PewDiePie was ahead by
around 150,000 with T-Series expected to overtake it in coming days.
“It will give us recognition all over the globe,” chairman Kumar said.
The company, one of India’s biggest record labels, operates 29 channels in
Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and other languages. It also airs health fitness videos
and children’s cartoons.
T-Series was founded by Kumar’s father, Gulshan Kumar, in 1983.
He was a fruit juice seller who started selling Bollywood music cassettes
and became a legendary Hindi film music producer, enjoying massive success
with the soundtrack to the 1990 film “Aashiqui” (Romance). He was murdered by
Mumbai mafia members in 1997.
As well as producing music videos, T-Series also buys film soundtracks and
collaborates with artists around India, providing a platform for their
content.
Its most-watched music video is Guru Randhawa’s “Lahore”, which was
uploaded in December last year and has been viewed almost 620 million times.
Kumar refused to say how much money T-Series makes from YouTube but
Bloomberg News reported recently that the site accounts for around a quarter
of its annual sales, which are about $100 million.
– ‘Sky’s the limit’ –
T-Series started posting videos on YouTube in 2011.
By October 2016 it had around 12 million subscribers and total hits of 11
billion, according to Social Blade, a website that tracks YouTube viewership.
That month India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, rolled out a new 4G network
called Reliance Jio. He offered bargain-basement data plans, sending
shockwaves through India’s telecoms market.
T-Series’ views rose quickly before skyrocketing this year.
In January, subscribers were at 31 million while its views reached 29
billion before soaring to 71 million and 53 billion respectively now.
“People say it’s a successful channel because data is more or less free.
It’s not that. There are so many channels in India but we are becoming number
one because of great content,” said Kumar.
Mobile internet users in India have increased from around 306 million in
October 2015 to 478 million in June 2018, according to the Internet and
Mobile Association of India.
And with millions more Indians still to buy their first smartphones the
country’s YouTube channels are going to keep hitting new heights.
“It’s increasing day by day. The sky is the limit,” said Kumar.