What changed
YouTube has published new Partner Program terms that take effect February 1, 2027. New applicants seeking ads and Premium revenue sharing will need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified long-form watch hours in 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, up from the current 4,000-hour / 10-million-Shorts thresholds. Existing YPP members keep their membership, but Shorts creators will need 10 million qualified Shorts views in the preceding 90 days each month to receive ads and Premium revenue from the Shorts Creator Pool. YouTube is also expanding Premium Lite to all Premium countries and allocating 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue to its creator pool versus 30% for Premium, before the standard creator revenue share is applied.
Why it matters
This changes creator-platform economics at both the acquisition and operating stages. The bar for new creators to unlock ads and Premium roughly doubles, while existing Shorts creators can remain in YPP yet lose Shorts pool revenue in months when they fall below 10 million qualified views. That makes format mix, qualified-view measurement and alternative monetization such as fan funding, Shopping and brand deals more important. Creators also have an administrative deadline: updated monetization modules must be accepted by January 31, 2027 to keep earning from the associated features.
New creators face materially higher ads-and-Premium thresholds
From February 1, new YPP applicants need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the prior 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the prior 90 days. The lower entry tier for fan funding, Creator Partnerships and Shopping stays at 500 subscribers plus 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views.
Shorts revenue becomes a rolling monthly qualification
Existing creators are not removed from YPP if they miss the new Shorts threshold, but they will not receive that month’s Shorts Creator Pool ads and Premium share unless they have 10 million qualified Shorts views in the preceding 90 days. Revenue sharing resumes automatically after they cross the threshold again.
Premium Lite adds another subscription pool
YouTube is expanding Premium Lite to every country where Premium is offered. It says 60% of Premium Lite net subscription revenue goes into a dedicated creator pool, compared with 30% for Premium. Those pools are distributed based on member consumption, after which creators receive the standard 55% long-form or 45% Shorts share.
Qualified views matter more than public view counters
YouTube defines qualified Shorts views as engaged views on public Shorts, excluding loops and viewers who do not stay past the initial seconds. Creators therefore need to monitor the qualified/engaged metric in Analytics rather than using headline public view counts to estimate YPP eligibility.
Existing creators still need to accept new terms
Current YPP members are grandfathered from the higher entry threshold, but must accept updated Watch Page, Shorts and applicable Commerce modules by January 31. Missing the deadline pauses earnings from the associated monetization features until the updated terms are accepted.