YouTube Is Sharply Tightening Monetization Requirements

YouTube, the leading platform in the video-hosting market, is significantly tightening the requirements for content creators to earn money. According to ixbt.com, starting February 1, 2027, the number of views required for new channels to begin earning from ads and subscriptions will double. The changes are attributed to growing competition on the platform and increased audience activity. Ixbt.com reports .

Under the new rules, creators who want to join the Partner Program will need to accumulate 8,000 hours of watch time over the previous 12 months. For Shorts videos, they will also need to reach 20 million views within the previous 90 days. By comparison, under the current rules, 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 hours of watch time within a year or 10 million Shorts views within three months are sufficient.

Who will be affected by the new rules, and what are the requirements for Shorts?

The changes will apply only to new channels joining the program. Existing creators who are already successfully active on the platform and have joined the Partner Program will retain the previous requirements. This will help ensure stable earnings for experienced creators.

At the same time, a separate requirement is being introduced for continuing to earn money through the Shorts module. Creators must consistently maintain at least 10 million views every 90 days. If the figure falls below this threshold, revenue from regular videos on the channel will remain available, but Shorts payments will be temporarily suspended until the metric is restored.

YouTube executives attributed the move to the platform's enormous audience growth. Users currently watch more than 200 billion Shorts videos per day. The company also noted that daily viewing time for YouTube on television screens has exceeded 1 billion hours.

Against this backdrop, YouTube is working to expand its YouTube Premium Lite subscription to all countries where the service is available. Revenue from these subscriptions will be distributed fairly among creators based on how long their content is watched and the number of views it receives.