What is T-Series? PewDiePie is about to be overthrown as the world's most subscribed YouTube channel

PewDiePie's reign as the world's most popular YouTuber looks about to end, after a channel based in India achieved enormous growth in recent months.

The T-Series YouTube channel began uploading videos in 2010, sharing music videos and film trailers with its subscribers.

PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, became the number one YouTube channel in 2013 after amassing more than 14 million subscribers. This has since risen to 67 million subscribers, and has remained easily its popular star.

But with 66 million subscribers and counting, T-Series is projected to overtake PewDiePie's subscriber count in the coming weeks.

What is T-Series?

The T-Series YouTube channel describes itself as India's largest music label and movie studio, which "believes in bringing world close together through its music [sic]". Its uploads are mostly music videos from a range of different, popular artists in India.

The growth of the channel has coincided with the growth of the number of internet users in India, which currently stands at around 460 million, according to Statista.

Some YouTube users in the Middle East and India have suggested that creating a new account automatically subscribes them to the T-Series channel, though various videos on the site from users in the region suggest this is not actually the case.

What has PewDiePie said?

In a video titled 'TSERIES EXPOSED?', PewDiePie questioned the channel's large number of subscribers, and advanced theories including the popular belief in "auto-subs" to the T-Series channel.

"How can a channel that has so many subscribers and gaining subscribers so quickly get so little views on some videos?" he said.

But he has also appeared to accept the fact that he is likely to lose his crown as the site's most popular channel.

"The more I thought about it, I began to realise that PewDiePie getting surpassed by T-Series is a really fitting situation for the current state of YouTube," said popular YouTuber EmpLemon, in a video explaining the end of PewDiePie's reign. He suggested that the increasing commercialisation of the platform was to blame for the change.

"Because the era of YouTube that PewDiePie represents simply does not exist anymore. The fact he has even managed to stay on top for as long as he has is somewhat of a miracle."