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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The first YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers was Fred, a character channel created and performed by Lucas Cruikshank. YouTube announced the milestone on April 7, 2009, in a post that named Fred the first channel to reach the mark, and Guinness World Records places the achievement in April 2009. The record belongs to the channel, not to Cruikshank as a person, and the channel’s story runs back to 2006.
Who the record belongs to
Fred is the name of a character, Fred Figglehorn, and the channel carried that name. Cruikshank wrote and performed the videos. YouTube’s 2009 announcement described him as a 15-year-old from Nebraska when it introduced him as the creator behind the channel. Guinness World Records identifies Cruikshank as the record-holder for the first YouTuber to reach one million subscribers, so the answer to the question is both a person and a channel: Cruikshank made it, and Fred is the channel that crossed the threshold.
Other early comedy channels, Smosh among them, often come up in discussions of YouTube’s first large audiences. Neither YouTube’s announcement nor Guinness credits them with this particular milestone, so they are not the answer to this question.
How the Fred timeline breaks down
Three dates are often blended together: the first character video, the launch of the dedicated channel, and the subscriber milestone. Guinness keeps them apart, and so should any account of the record.
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| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October 30, 2006 | Guinness dates the first Fred episode, “Fred on Halloween.” | Guinness World Records |
| April 30, 2008 | Guinness says the Fred channel was established. | Guinness World Records |
| April 7, 2009 | YouTube publishes its “Fred Hits 1m Subscribers” announcement, identifying Fred as the first channel to reach one million subscribers. | YouTube blog |
| April 2009 | Guinness records Cruikshank’s one-million-subscriber achievement in this month. | Guinness World Records |
| August 2009 | Guinness says Nigahiga, run by Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi, overtook Fred. | Guinness World Records |
| October 8, 2010 | YouTube publishes a retrospective on the arrival of “Fred: The Movie” for rental on the platform, again describing Fred as the first channel to hit one million subscribers. | YouTube blog |
The gap between the first episode and the channel launch is about eighteen months. The channel’s growth to one million came after that, and YouTube described the climb as taking under one year.
What YouTube reported in 2009
YouTube’s April 2009 post, written by Mark Day, identified as Comedy Programs Manager, called Fred “the first YouTube channel to do so,” meaning the first to record its millionth subscriber. The post also listed the view totals of several Fred videos at that time. These are historical figures from the announcement, not current counts:
- “Fred Goes Swimming”: more than 23 million views
- “Fred Loses His Meds”: more than 17 million views
- “Fred Goes to the Dentist”: more than 13 million views
First is not the same as most-subscribed
Being first to one million and holding the largest audience are separate claims. Fred crossed the threshold first, but it did not keep the lead. Guinness records that Nigahiga overtook it in August 2009, only a few months after the milestone. Readers who want the top spot at a later date need a different source, because the sources covering this record do not track subsequent rankings.
What the sources cannot pin down
- The exact crossing day. YouTube’s post is dated April 7, 2009, and Guinness gives only the month. The announcement date is not the same as the date the millionth subscriber joined.
- Current subscriber counts. The 2009 and 2010 figures describe those years only. They do not show where Fred stands today.
- Later availability of the movie. The 2010 YouTube post describes “Fred: The Movie” as available for rental on the platform at that time. The sources do not establish whether it remains available.
Fred after the record
YouTube’s October 2010 retrospective tied the channel’s history to the film’s arrival on the platform and repeated the claim that Fred was the first channel to hit one million subscribers. That makes it the most recent primary account in this record. It confirms the milestone rather than adding new subscriber data.
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