YouTube said Aug. 10 that new creators seeking ad and subscription revenue will face substantially higher eligibility thresholds beginning Feb. 1, 2027. Applicants will need 8,000 qualified public watch hours in the prior 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the prior 90 days.
That is double the current watch-time and Shorts-view requirements. Today, a channel can apply for the revenue-sharing tier of the YouTube Partner Program with 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days, according to YouTube’s eligibility guidance.
The change applies to new applicants
YouTube said creators already in the partner program will not be removed because of the new entry rules. The lower thresholds for fan-funding and shopping products also will remain unchanged, meaning smaller channels can still gain access to features such as memberships and commerce before qualifying for broad ad and subscription revenue sharing.
For new entrants, however, the required audience proof becomes more demanding. TechCrunch noted that the shift puts more pressure on creators to deliver large, consistent audiences before platform revenue begins. That can lengthen the period in which a channel must fund production through savings, sponsorships, affiliate income or other work.
Shorts will get a separate maintenance test
YouTube also is changing how Shorts revenue is distributed. Starting Feb. 1, creators will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over 90 days to receive ads and subscription revenue from Shorts. A channel that falls below that level will remain in the partner program and can continue earning from long-form video, but its Shorts revenue share will pause until the threshold is reached again.
At the same time, YouTube announced new incentives for channels below the Shorts threshold, including planned bonuses tied to shopping, brand deals and trend creation. The company said it would disclose more details later.
Subscription revenue broadens the upside
The platform also plans to expand Premium Lite to every country where YouTube Premium is available. YouTube said creators will share in pools funded by subscription revenue and will continue receiving 55% of the allocated long-form revenue and 45% of the allocated Shorts revenue. The pools differ because YouTube accounts for the costs of operating and marketing each subscription product.
The commercial signal is mixed. YouTube is creating more ways for established creators to earn while making the main revenue-sharing gate harder for new ones to cross. Agencies and brands that build creator programs should plan for a longer incubation period and avoid treating future platform payments as startup capital.
Creators also should measure the right problem. A strategy designed only to clear a threshold may produce volatile reach without a durable audience. The stronger business will pair platform distribution with direct sponsorship relationships, commerce, memberships or owned channels that can survive another rules change.
The higher bar also changes how success is reported. Subscriber totals alone will say less about whether a new channel is close to monetization. Creators and their partners will need to track qualified watch time, Shorts velocity, audience retention and the mix of revenue-eligible formats. A large following with irregular viewing may still leave a business outside the main sharing program.