YouTube doubles the eligibility threshold for new creators to start earning money

YouTube is increasing the eligibility requirements for new creators seeking to earn advertising and subscription revenue through its YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), as the platform moves to ensure that its growing creator economy continues to reward active content producers.

The Google-owned video platform announced the changes in a blog post on Monday, saying the revised criteria will take effect from February 1, 2027. The new rules will apply only to creators newly joining the YPP to receive ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing, while channels already enrolled in the programme will remain unaffected, reports bdnews24.com.

The minimum requirement of 1,000 subscribers for full YPP eligibility will remain unchanged. However, YouTube is doubling the public watch-time requirement for long-form content, raising it from 4,000 to 8,000 hours accumulated over the previous 12 months.

For Shorts creators, the requirement for advertising and subscription revenue sharing will be 10 million qualified views during the previous 90 days.

Creators who fall below the 10-million-view threshold will remain part of the YPP and can continue earning revenue from long-form videos. Shorts revenue sharing will automatically resume once their channels cross the required view threshold again.

YouTube also plans to expand earning opportunities beyond advertising. These will include bonuses connected to YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand partnerships and additional rewards for creators who launch and drive trends on the platform. The company said further details will be announced later.

The YPP currently has more than 3 million creators, and YouTube expects to pay out more to creators in 2027 than it did in 2026.

Meanwhile, YouTube is expanding its Premium Lite subscription service to all countries where YouTube Premium is available. Creators will receive a portion of Premium Lite revenue based on members' watch time and views.

YouTube said 30 percent of net subscription revenue from Premium and 60 percent from Premium Lite are allocated to creator revenue pools. Creators receive 55 percent of the allocated revenue from long-form videos and 45 percent from Shorts.

The changes come as YouTube continues to see rapid growth in short-form and television viewing. The platform says Shorts now generate more than 200 billion views each day, while users watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube content daily on television screens.