YouTube is tightening the requirements for its Partner Program for new creators: starting February 1, the view thresholds will double, according to infohub.kz.
Under the new policy, new participants must accumulate 8,000 hours of watch time on long-form videos over the past 12 months, up from the previous 4,000 hours, to earn ad revenue. For Shorts creators, the qualification threshold rises from 10 million to 20 million views within 90 days. The minimum subscriber count remains unchanged at 1,000.
Existing program members will not be directly affected, but Shorts creators will need to maintain a 10 million view threshold every 90 days to keep monetization. Additionally, the service reserves the right to remove accounts that have not posted content for more than six months.
The company explains the changes as a way to support active creators and expand the availability of the Premium Lite subscription. YouTube representatives believe that an increase in paying users will offset the stricter conditions and redistribute revenue in favor of creators who post regularly.