YouTube doubles entry thresholds for the partner program from 2027
From February 2027, new creators will need twice as much watch time to earn money from ads. Shorts revenue will go only to large channels, and YouTube is offering shopping and brand partnerships to smaller ones.
YouTube announced on Monday, August 10, on its blog the most significant changes to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) in years. It is a program in which creators share advertising and subscription revenue with the platform. The new rules will take effect on February 1, 2027. Creators must accept the new terms in the YouTube Studio panel by January 31, 2027. The changes were reported by, among others, Wirtualne Media and TechCrunch.
New applicants to the program will still need 1,000 subscribers. In addition, they must accumulate 8,000 eligible watch hours within a year or 20 million eligible Shorts views within 90 days. Shorts are short vertical videos. Until now, 4,000 hours or 10 million views were enough. Channels already in the program will keep their status under the current rules. The lower threshold for viewer support and YouTube Shopping remains unchanged: 500 subscribers and 3,000 hours or 3 million Shorts views.
The second change will also affect current partners. Revenue sharing from ads and Premium subscriptions on Shorts will only be available to channels that exceeded 10 million eligible Shorts views in the last 90 days. The threshold is calculated on a rolling basis. A channel below the threshold remains in the program and continues to earn from longer videos. It will automatically regain its share of Shorts revenue once it crosses the threshold again.
For creators below the threshold, YouTube is promising bonuses for sales through YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand partnerships, and additional payouts for starting and developing trends. The platform has not yet provided details of these programs. YouTube will also roll out the cheaper Premium Lite subscription in all countries where Premium is available. Premium Lite means ad-free, offline, and background viewing. The company says it will pay creators more in 2027 than in 2026.
Creator DeepHumor called the new 8,000 watch hours threshold a blow to small channels, according to Dexerto. A representative of rival platform Kick publicly encouraged creators to move. For companies that work with creators, it is important that YouTube is tying the future earnings of smaller channels to brand campaigns and sales through YouTube Shopping.