YouTube Increases Viewership Requirement for Earning Ad Revenue

Hannan Mundia Published 11/08/2026

Despite YouTube being a cornerstone for creators hoping to quickly start earning money from their content, the platform is increasing its viewership requirement following changes to the YouTube Partner Program.

While content creators today can utilize the monetization programs offered by multiple platforms, that wasn’t always the case. Previously, YouTube was the only reliable platform that paid its creators fairly. Of course, this only applied to those who had met the minimum viewership requirements needed to become eligible.

With the creator economy growing rapidly, YouTube announced that there would be some changes in the coming days. From increasing the viewership requirements to expanding its Premium Lite subscription, YouTube’s management team has seemingly decided to make major changes to the platform.

What are YouTube’s new viewership requirements?

Starting February 1, 2027, new creators will need 8,000 watch hours over 12 months or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days to start earning.

It’s known that getting views in long-form content is significantly harder than getting people to watch Shorts. Still, Shorts creators have started dominating the platform so it makes sense that YouTube would want to categorize long-form and Shorts creators differently, resulting in different viewership requirements.

Getting 8,000 watch hours is daunting, but creators have more than enough time to build their communities in the coming months. Users will likely see more videos hitting the 10- or 15-minute mark due to more filler content, but that isn’t too different from the norm on YouTube.

Image credit – MrBeast

Unfortunately for Shorts creators, the new requirements could be unachievable for many. The competition among Shorts creators is fierce, so getting views is less about the content you’re creating and more about whether the algorithm favors you. Reaching 20 million views organically in just three months, even on Shorts, is much easier said than done.

Editor’s view

There’s a good chance that multiple creators could now jump ship to TikTok or Instagram. After all, most fresh content creators primarily went for YouTube because the platform’s requirements were fairly straightforward. Users needed 4,000 watch hours over 12 months or 10 million Shorts views over 90 days previously, which is exactly half of what the future requirements will be.

Not to mention, in addition to the viewership requirement, users also need at least 1,000 subscribers if they want to be eligible to get paid by YouTube. While this isn’t a problem for long-form creators, Shorts creators struggle to capture long-term audiences for their content.

YouTube expands its Premium Lite subscription

YouTube also announced that it would expand its Premium Lite subscription to more countries, potentially helping creators earn more.

Several countries that have YouTube Premium but not Lite will also get the more affordable subscription. YouTube Premium Lite lets users watch videos without ads, all the while having the option to download videos for offline viewing. It’s cheaper than the regular Premium subscription since it doesn’t include YouTube Music and shows ads on music content and Shorts.

This expansion should also help the platform’s creators earn more. YouTube gives a share of subscription revenue to creators based on the watch time and views of members: 55% goes to long-form creators while 45% goes to Shorts creators. An increase in Premium Lite members could indirectly increase the average pay partnered creators should expect.

Feature image credit: YouTube

Hannan Mundia

About Hannan Mundia

Hannan Mundia is a lifelong gamer. Don’t believe us? Just ask him. But don’t ask how many hours he’s spent playing. He’s been gaming since the age of three, and much of his live revolves around video games and the video game industry. Whether it’s a classic Legend of Zelda game from Nintendo, the newest Bethesda RPG, or something else entirely, you can bet that Hannan is ready and willing to play it.

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