YouTube changes Partner Programme rules, raises monetisation thresholds

MUMBAI: YouTube is changing the way creators cash in on clicks. The platform has announced its first major overhaul of the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) since 2018, introducing new earning opportunities while raising monetisation thresholds for new creators.

The changes, announced on August 10, will take effect from February 1, 2027. YouTube said the move is aimed at rewarding active creators and supporting a wider range of creator-led business models.

The YPP, launched nearly 20 years ago, now has more than three million creators. YouTube said it expects to pay creators more in 2027 than it did in 2026.

YouTube is expanding Premium Lite to all countries where YouTube Premium is available. The subscription offers uninterrupted, offline and background viewing for most content.

Creators will earn from Premium Lite through a dedicated revenue pool. YouTube will allocate 30 per cent of net subscription revenue from Premium and 60 per cent from Premium Lite to the respective creator pools.

The pool will then be distributed based on member watch time and views. Creators will receive a 55 per cent revenue share for long-form videos and 45 per cent for Shorts.

YouTube said creators could see higher earnings as more viewers move to paid subscriptions, noting that partners earn more on average when a user signs up for Premium than when the same user watches ads.

YouTube is also changing its Shorts revenue-sharing model to put greater emphasis on engagement and conversation.

From February 1, 2027, creators will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over a 90-day period to qualify for ad and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts.

Channels below the threshold will remain part of YPP and can continue earning from long-form content. Shorts revenue sharing will resume automatically when a channel crosses the 10 million-view mark again.

YouTube said creators already earning significant revenue from Shorts are unlikely to be affected by the change.

For smaller channels, the platform plans to introduce alternative incentive programmes, including bonuses linked to YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals and earnings boosts for creators who start and grow trends.

More details on these programmes will be announced later.

YouTube is also raising the YPP thresholds for new creators seeking access to advertising and Premium revenue sharing.

From February 1, new applicants will need either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the previous 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the previous 90 days.

The existing entry requirements for fan-funding and shopping products will remain unchanged.

YouTube said the higher thresholds reflect the scale of the platform, which now records more than 200 billion Shorts views a day and over one billion hours of daily watch time on connected TVs.

Creators already enrolled in YPP will not be affected by the new entry requirements.

The changes mark a significant shift in YouTube’s creator strategy, moving beyond a model built primarily around advertising towards subscriptions, commerce, brand partnerships and performance-based incentives. For creators, the message is clear: audiences still matter, but how they engage with them is becoming just as important.