YouTube is about to crown a new king. T-Series, one of India's largest record labels, will become the most-subscribed channel on the world's most popular video site in the next couple weeks. At the beginning of the year, the company had 30 million fans, fewer than half of the following for No. 1 PewDiePie, the Swedish video-game geek and jokester whose real name is Felix Kjellberg. From a report: The company's ascent has shocked the tight-knit community of online personalities, prompting some to rally behind PewDiePie and delay T-Series' ascent. While claiming the most subscribers on Youtube is largely a symbolic achievement, and the company already has the most monthly views, the end of PewDiePie's five-year reign is a watershed moment that reflects important changes as internet use gets more global. More than half of the 10 most popular channels on YouTube in terms of monthly views are from outside the U.S., and many of them belong to professional media companies. YouTube's previous champions have been young, male amateurs like the video blogger Ray William Johnson and comedy duo Smosh. But after years as a mostly Western site for pranks and cat clips, the Google-owned company has lured most of the world's largest media giants to the site, blurring the line between professional and amateur. Further reading: Who Rules YouTube? Swift? Bieber? Nope. It's T-Series, a Record Label in India.

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