What changes in the YouTube Partner Program in 2027

YouTube announced the change on August 10, 2026. For channels that are not in the Partner Program yet, from February 1, 2027 sharing in ad revenue takes one of these:

• 8,000watch hours in the last 365 days to join (today: 4,000)
• 20MShorts views in the last 90 days to join (today: 10 million)
• 1,000subscribers: this number stays the same
• 10MShorts views in 90 days to earn from Shorts in a month

• 1,000 subscribers and 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or
• 1,000 subscribers and 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

That is twice today's numbers, 4,000 hours or 10 million Shorts views. The subscriber count stays at 1,000, and the rest of the process is as before: a country where the program runs, 2-Step Verification, an AdSense account, no active strikes, and a review of the whole channel.

If your channel is already in the program, YouTube says your status is not affected.

Today a channel in the program shares in Shorts revenue every month. From February 1, 2027 every month is checked: to earn that month from the Shorts Creator Pool and from YouTube Premium revenue, the channel needs at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the 90 days up to the 15th of the month before.

A channel below that line stays in the program, keeps earning from its long videos, and starts earning from Shorts again by itself once it is back above 10 million.

For a smaller channel this makes long videos the dependable way to earn. Shorts still bring new viewers to a channel even in months they do not pay.

• The earlier level for fan funding and shopping: 500 subscribers, and 3,000 watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days.
• The share of ad revenue: 55% for long videos, and 45% of the Shorts revenue allocated to your channel.
• The content rules: nothing in the announcement changes the policies on inauthentic and reused content, and the review still looks at whether the channel is original.

Counted over a day or a view, the new bar looks like this:

• 8,000 watch hours is 480,000 minutes: for example 60,000 views of videos people watch for 8 minutes, or 120,000 views at 4 minutes, within 365 days.
• 20 million Shorts views in 90 days is about 222,000 Shorts views a day, every day for three months.
• 10 million Shorts views in 90 days, the monthly test for Shorts earnings, is about 111,000 a day.

Watch time from the Shorts feed does not count toward watch hours, and the two paths do not add up: a channel reaches one or the other.

For most channels that makes long videos people watch to the end the realistic way in, with Shorts as the way new viewers find them. A channel whose Shorts already pass 10 million views every 90 days keeps earning from both.

In the same announcement YouTube introduced new incentive programs, among them bonuses for YouTube Shopping and incentives for brand deals, and said Premium Lite is expanding to every country where YouTube Premium is offered. The new terms take effect on February 1, 2027; until then today's thresholds apply.

YouTube’s Help Center, read on 29 October 2026, adds three things. Every partner has to review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027, or stop earning from the features they cover until they do, without losing their place in the program. From February 1, 2027 a channel counts as active with 1,000 watch hours in 365 days, 1 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 2 long videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 days, and one that drops below gets a 90-day window. And a Shorts ad targeted at five or fewer channels pays them a direct 45% share.

1. August 10, 2026YouTube announces the change.
2. Until February 1, 2027Today's thresholds apply: 4,000 hours or 10 million Shorts views.
3. January 31, 2027Last day to accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio.
4. February 1, 2027The new terms take effect.

1. 1

   If you are close, get there now

   Channels in the program before February 1, 2027 keep their place. If you are near 4,000 hours or 10 million Shorts views, reaching them now counts under today's rules. The review takes about a month.

2. 2

   Build long videos

   They earn from ads whatever your Shorts numbers are, and their watch time is what counts toward the 8,000 hours.

3. 3

   Use Shorts to be found

   Point Shorts at your long videos: they bring the viewers, the long videos keep them.

4. 4

   Keep every video yours

   The review does not change: your own ideas, scripts and choices are what get a channel in, and mass-produced uploads are what keep it out.