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YouTube announced on Monday that new creators will need to meet significantly higher thresholds to start earning money from ads and subscriptions. The changes, which take effect February 1, 2026, reflect the platform's massive growth and aim to keep pace with its expanding audience.
Starting February 1, creators who want to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and begin monetizing their content must meet these updated benchmarks:
8,000 qualified public watch hours over the past 12 months, or
20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days
For comparison, the current requirements are 1,000 subscribers with either 4,000 watch hours over the past year or 10 million Shorts views over the past 90 days.
The Google-owned company emphasizes that these updates will not affect creators already enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program. Existing members will maintain their monetization status regardless of the new thresholds.
YouTube also introduced a maintenance requirement for Shorts revenue. To continue earning money through the Shorts Creators Pool, channels must maintain 10 million Shorts views over a 90-day period. Channels that fall below this threshold will remain in the partner program and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue resuming once they cross 10 million views again.
This change places additional pressure on Shorts creators to consistently generate high viewership. The new rules could lead to fewer new entrants being able to monetize their content, as the bar for entry—and retention—has been raised substantially.
YouTube says the changes are being introduced to "keep pace with the growth of YouTube, which now sees over 200 billion daily Shorts views and over a billion hours of watch time on TV" every day. As the platform expands, it's adjusting its monetization standards to reflect the increased scale and competition.
In related news, YouTube announced it's expanding its more affordable Premium Lite subscription to all countries where YouTube Premium is currently available. This gives viewers an ad-free experience on most videos, along with offline downloads and background playback.
Creators receive a share of subscription revenue based on member watch time and views. The revenue split is:
55% to long-form video creators
45% to Shorts creators
"With these additional subscribers, creators can expect higher earnings: when a user signs up for Premium, partners, on average, earn more than when the user was watching ads," the company wrote in its blog post.
YouTube isn't alone in revising its creator rewards programs. Over the weekend, Elon Musk's X changed its payout guidelines to only reward original content. Earlier this spring, Facebook also launched a new monetization program aimed at attracting creators from TikTok and YouTube.
These shifts signal a broader trend across social platforms: monetization is becoming more selective, with companies prioritizing quality, originality, and sustained audience engagement over sheer volume.
For new creators, these changes mean a longer runway before monetization becomes possible. To succeed under the new YouTube Partner Program requirements 2026, consider these strategies:
Focus on long-form content if watch hours are your stronger metric
Build a consistent posting schedule to maintain audience engagement
Diversify your revenue streams beyond ad revenue while building your channel
Track your analytics closely to understand what drives watch time and views
If you're currently working toward YPP eligibility, you have until February 1 to qualify under the existing thresholds. After that date, the new requirements will apply.
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