YouTube announced on Monday that new creators will face increased requirements to start earning revenue from ads and subscriptions. From February 1, creators will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
Currently, creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over the past year, or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90 days. The Google-owned company stated that these updates will not impact creators already participating in the YouTube Partner Program.
Additionally, YouTube creators will need to maintain 10 million Shorts views over a 90-day period to earn money through the Shorts Creators Pool. Channels falling below this threshold will remain in the partner program and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue resuming once they again reach 10 million views.
YouTube attributes these changes to the platform's growth, citing over 200 billion daily Shorts views and more than a billion hours of watch time on TV every day. The company also announced the expansion of its Premium Lite subscription to all countries where YouTube Premium is available.