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"Unless you avoid YouTube like the plague, you've probably heard of Fred, the YouTube sensation that goes on misadventures while talking in a high-pitched voice due to digitally-edited audio.  \nThe character (portrayed by Lucas Cruikshank) has been YouTube's most popular personality, based on subscription count.  He's even one of the most searched terms by kids on the web.  Yet he has divided millions of people who either think he's entertaining or just annoying.\nWell something interesting happened this weekend: Fred got dethroned.  The #1 position, held by Fred for ages, is now claimed by Nigahiga, the popular YouTube comedy duo.  Fred has about 1.36 million subscribers, compared to Nigahiga's 1.392 million.Does this development dramatically change the landscape of YouTube?  No, probably not.  However, it does represent a changing dynamic and a broadening demographic on the world's most popular video website.  Online video is surging.  At the same time, YouTube is focusing on premium content that is more easily monetizable.\nThat's not to say Fred isn't monetizable or isn't premium content.  However, Fred has generally appealed to a younger audience.  As more and more adults become interested in online video, they may just be finding that Fred isn't their cup of tea.  It's tough to tell, but something's clearly changing with viewers over at YouTube.  \nBelow is Nigahiga's video marking the changing of the guard:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2009/08/23/fred-dethroned-youtube/>