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If he had a conventional TV show nobody would be surprised. The number of people that watch his content is astronomical, every one of his videos has over a mill

If he had a conventional TV show nobody would be surprised. The number of people that watch his content is astronomical, every one of his videos has over a million views. He's much more heavily viewed than, say, cable news networks like CNN. Indeed, more people watch him than NBC, ABC, or CBS.

fl0wenol 11y ago
And what I can't understand is why _exactly_ is he so viewed? He doesn't seem to be particularly anything-- off-the-cuff witty, insightful, skilled, voice is slightly obnoxious (but not enough to be unintentionally funny). There are a lot of other let's play/game reviewers out there which are fun for various reasons (in each case) but they don't reach nearly the same viewership. Is it just momentum? What am I not getting?
- pluma 11y ago
  It's mostly momentum. I think he was one of the first let's-players to do shrill voices and gained popularity when there just wasn't much competition for the kind of audience he attracted. I'd love to say he's only popular with children, but I know people in their twenties who enjoy his videos. I'm not sure I get it, but he's found something that works and it doesn't show any signs of dying off. EDIT: I'm also convinced he's part of the reason "LeFloid" is having so much success compared to other German YouTubers. It's the same formula, except with "facts"/"news" videos instead of let's-plays (and thus a lot more face time). No matter what I think of them, their success proves them right. EDIT2: For PewDiePie I think a big part of his success are also his looks. He looks like the kind of actor teenage girls obsess about. Good looking + funny = instant crush.
  - Spellman 11y ago
    Plus he has moved to 3 different countries, picking up viewers from them all. And how YouTube's Recommended Videos system works. Here's someone's analysis of why he got so popular. Looks, editing skills, and personality also helped build him a niche. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMqhEMhVV8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMqhEMhVV8
- jbob2000 11y ago
  Children. My friend's 7 year-old watches him regularly.
- qq66 11y ago
  Popular appeal is one of those things that remains quite resistant to dissection and scrutiny. Up to a certain point, measurable talent drives success, but at the highest levels, the drivers of success become a lot harder to characterize. Why is pop star X so famous? Or pop star Y get so famous so quickly, but then fade from view? Or Z remaining a niche act, despite obviously superior talent? I've read a lot of retrospectively written narratives (that are suspiciously overfitted) but the drivers of fame are still poorly understood (partly because when one thing works, everyone tries that, and fame is zero-sum).
adventured 11y ago
You're not even remotely close on that speculation. CBS did $13.8 billion in revenue last year. If more people were watching PewDiePie than CBS, he would be earning a lot more than $7 million per year. He's averaging five million views per day over five years. His new content gets one to two million views in the first day. His clips are typically five to eight minutes long. Big Bang Theory alone has 20 million viewers. Pound for pound those viewers are worth drastically more. CBS also has vastly more programming per day. One single program alone - the CBS evening news - has more dedicated viewers (5 million), and a larger economic base, than PewDiePie.

fl0wenol 11y ago

And what I can't understand is why _exactly_ is he so viewed? He doesn't seem to be particularly anything-- off-the-cuff witty, insightful, skilled, voice is slightly obnoxious (but not enough to be unintentionally funny). There are a lot of other let's play/game reviewers out there which are fun for various reasons (in each case) but they don't reach nearly the same viewership. Is it just momentum? What am I not getting?

pluma 11y ago
It's mostly momentum. I think he was one of the first let's-players to do shrill voices and gained popularity when there just wasn't much competition for the kind of audience he attracted. I'd love to say he's only popular with children, but I know people in their twenties who enjoy his videos. I'm not sure I get it, but he's found something that works and it doesn't show any signs of dying off. EDIT: I'm also convinced he's part of the reason "LeFloid" is having so much success compared to other German YouTubers. It's the same formula, except with "facts"/"news" videos instead of let's-plays (and thus a lot more face time). No matter what I think of them, their success proves them right. EDIT2: For PewDiePie I think a big part of his success are also his looks. He looks like the kind of actor teenage girls obsess about. Good looking + funny = instant crush.
- Spellman 11y ago
  Plus he has moved to 3 different countries, picking up viewers from them all. And how YouTube's Recommended Videos system works. Here's someone's analysis of why he got so popular. Looks, editing skills, and personality also helped build him a niche. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMqhEMhVV8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMqhEMhVV8
jbob2000 11y ago
Children. My friend's 7 year-old watches him regularly.
qq66 11y ago
Popular appeal is one of those things that remains quite resistant to dissection and scrutiny. Up to a certain point, measurable talent drives success, but at the highest levels, the drivers of success become a lot harder to characterize. Why is pop star X so famous? Or pop star Y get so famous so quickly, but then fade from view? Or Z remaining a niche act, despite obviously superior talent? I've read a lot of retrospectively written narratives (that are suspiciously overfitted) but the drivers of fame are still poorly understood (partly because when one thing works, everyone tries that, and fame is zero-sum).

adventured 11y ago

You're not even remotely close on that speculation. CBS did $13.8 billion in revenue last year. If more people were watching PewDiePie than CBS, he would be earning a lot more than $7 million per year. He's averaging five million views per day over five years. His new content gets one to two million views in the first day. His clips are typically five to eight minutes long. Big Bang Theory alone has 20 million viewers. Pound for pound those viewers are worth drastically more. CBS also has vastly more programming per day. One single program alone - the CBS evening news - has more dedicated viewers (5 million), and a larger economic base, than PewDiePie.