YouTube has announced significant updates to its monetization criteria, doubling the watch-time threshold for new content creators entering the YouTube Partner Program.

Effective February 1, 2027, the updated guidelines raise entry barriers while leaving existing monetized channels unaffected.

Under the updated framework, new channels seeking advertising revenue must meet significantly higher performance benchmarks within specific timeframes:

• Long-Form Content: Requires at least 8,000 public watch hours over the preceding 12 months, double the previous requirement of 4,000 hours.
• Short-Form Content: Demands 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days, doubling the prior 10 million threshold.
• Subscriber Baseline: Retains the requirement of 1,000 subscribers to qualify for channel monetization.

For creators earning through the Shorts Creator Fund, YouTube specified that channels must maintain 10 million Shorts views every 90 days to retain short-form revenue share. If view counts drop below this mark, creators remain in the partner program for long-form content, with Shorts monetization resuming once the 10-million view threshold is reached again.

According to YouTube, the policy shift reflects massive platform growth, noting that daily viewership now exceeds 200 billion Shorts views and over one billion watch hours on television screens globally.

Additionally, YouTube confirmed the worldwide expansion of YouTube Premium Lite across all markets where standard Premium subscriptions are supported. Creator compensation under the subscription model remains structured by content type:

• Long-Form Revenue Share: 55% of subscription revenue is allocated to long-form video creators based on watch time.
• Short-Form Revenue Share: 45% is distributed to Shorts creators based on total member views.

The elevated requirements place increased pressure on emerging creators to build consistent, high-volume audiences before qualifying for earning any platform revenue.

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