Overview
- YouTube published official YPP changes on Monday that take effect February 1, 2027 and require creators to accept the new terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027.
- New applicants must meet either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the past 90 days to join the YouTube Partner Program.
- To earn ads and subscription revenue on Shorts, channels must reach 10 million qualified Shorts views over a 90-day window, with payouts resuming automatically if a channel crosses that mark again.
- YouTube is expanding Premium Lite to all markets that offer Premium and creating dedicated subscription pools that allocate 30% of net to Premium and 60% to Premium Lite, with creators receiving 55% for long-form and 45% for Shorts from those pools.
- Existing YPP members are grandfathered and will not lose partnership status, and YouTube says it will add milestone-based incentives such as shopping bonuses and brand-deal rewards to help smaller channels earn under the new rules.