Overview
- YouTube announced the change on Monday and said that beginning February 1, 2027 new applicants will need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the past 90 days to earn ad and Premium revenue.
- Existing creators will keep their Partner Program status but must accept updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027 to continue earning from affected features.
- To receive monthly Shorts payouts a channel must maintain 10 million qualified Shorts views on a rolling 90-day basis, with Shorts payments paused (not removal from YPP) if a channel falls below that mark.
- YouTube is expanding Premium Lite globally and placing subscription revenue into creator pools—60% of net Premium Lite and 30% of net Premium—then allocating 55% of that pool to long-form creators and 45% to Shorts creators.
- YouTube framed the overhaul as a response to platform scale and promised new milestone incentives and shopping and brand-deal programs for smaller channels, a pledge that has drawn creator concern and competitor recruitment efforts while details and eligibility remain pending.