YouTube is about to tighten monetization conditions for content creators
YouTube on August 11 announced a series of changes to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which introduced a new revenue source from Premium Lite subscriptions, and increased requirements for revenue sharing. The changes will take effect from February 1, 2027.
Specifically, for new creators, they must reach 8,000 valid viewing hours in 365 days or 20 million valid Shorts video views in 90 days to meet the requirements to share advertising revenue.
Compared to the current policy, this level has doubled. YouTube currently requires a channel to have 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 valid public watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million valid Shorts views in 90 days to be eligible to receive advertising revenue share from YouTube Premium subscribers.
Under the new policy, creators participating in YPP will have to achieve at least 10 million valid Shorts views in the last 90 days to continue receiving advertising and subscription revenue shares from the short video format.
If this threshold is not met, the channel is not removed from YPP, but creators can only monetize long videos and have Shorts revenue sharing rights suspended. This feature is restored when the channel again surpasses the 10 million views mark in a 90-day period.
This is one of the major changes in YouTube's monetization policy for content creators since 2018, and marks the platform's introduction of a performance threshold that needs to be maintained for channels that have joined the program, instead of just using the view threshold as a condition for entry. The increase in requirements comes after the size of Shorts continued to increase sharply. YouTube says the format now gets more than 200 billion views a day, while users watch more than a billion hours of TV every day.
Google's video platform said the changes are intended to "reward active creators" and create more resources to invest in new support programs. YouTube said there are currently more than three million creators in YPP, and it is expected that the total payout to them in 2027 will exceed 2026.
In return, YouTube also opens more ways to make money for creators who have not reached the threshold of 10 million Shorts views. The platform plans to launch milestone-based rewards programs, including bonuses from YouTube Shopping, brand collaboration incentives, and opportunities to increase income when creators initiate new trends, but details have not been announced.
Another change is the addition of the ability to monetize Premium Lite subscriptions. This is a new subscription package deployed in Vietnam, priced at 49,000 VND per month, shortening some benefits compared to Premium (79,000 VND). For example, users can also download videos and play them in the background, but YouTube Music is not included. The package is also introduced to remove "most ads" on videos in topics such as games, fashion, beauty, and news, but will still appear in Shorts videos.
Under the new policy, YouTube said 60% of revenue from Premium Lite will be put into the fund allocated to creators, compared to 30% for the Premium package. Funds are allocated based on members' watch time and views, then creators receive 55% of the revenue for long videos and 45% for Shorts.
The YouTube Partner Program was launched nearly 20 years ago. In Vietnam, this is one of the platforms that helps users make money from creating online content. Recently, the platform has also faced competition from many competitors such as TikTok or Meta's Reels in the short video segment.
Luu Quy