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YouTube is making it harder for creators to start getting a cut of ad revenue
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YouTube is doubling the watch hours and Shorts views thresholds new creators must meet to join the YouTube Partner Program and earn ad revenue, while also imposing new activity-based maintenance requirements on existing partners.
For creators building audiences on YouTube, the path to monetization just got significantly longer, which could push smaller creators toward alternative platforms or force them to invest more heavily in Shorts volume. Existing partners now face ongoing upload frequency requirements that tie revenue continuity to production cadence rather than just viewership.
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Starting February 1, new creators need 8,000 watch hours (up from 4,000) or 20 million Shorts views (up from 10 million) alongside 1,000 subscribers to qualify for monetization.
Current partners must now maintain 1,000 watch hours per year or 1 million Shorts views, or post at least two long-form videos or five Shorts every 90 days to stay in good standing.
YouTube is expanding its Premium Lite tier globally and claims the additional subscribers will offset the stricter requirements, though it does not disclose Premium Lite subscriber counts separately.
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