From 4,000 to 8,000 hours: YouTube doubles key monetisation threshold

YouTube is raising the threshold for new creators seeking to earn money from advertising and YouTube Premium, in a move expected to make it harder for smaller channels to qualify for revenue.

The new requirements, announced on the official YouTube blog, will take effect on February 1, 2027. New creators will need at least 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the previous 12 months or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the previous 90 days.

The current requirements are 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views.

YouTube said the thresholds for fan funding and shopping features will remain unchanged.

Creators already generating significant revenue from Shorts are unlikely to be affected by the changes, although YouTube has not disclosed how many channels currently fall below the new thresholds.

The changes represent one of the biggest adjustments to the YouTube Partner Programme's entry requirements since 2018. The programme has more than three million participants and distributes revenue from advertising and subscriptions, while giving creators access to fan-funding and shopping tools.

Existing YouTube Partner Programme creators will largely be protected from the new entry thresholds. However, they will still need to meet YouTube's requirements for maintaining active status, including minimum watch-time or Shorts-view targets and regular uploads, depending on the applicable programme rules.

Meanwhile, YouTube is expanding Premium Lite to more markets and introducing additional ways for creators to earn from the platform.

The company says revenue-sharing opportunities under the expanded Premium Lite programme could give creators 55 per cent of revenue from long-form content and 45 per cent from Shorts under the new plans.

YouTube said the changes are intended to ensure that creators earning from its advertising systems demonstrate sustained audience engagement rather than relying mainly on occasional viral content.

For aspiring creators, however, the higher thresholds could intensify competition for advertising revenue, particularly among channels that depend heavily on Shorts.