Tech Brew Ride Home · Tuesday, August 11, 2026
YouTube is raising the requirements for creators to join its Partner Program starting February 1st, demanding more watch hours or Shorts views. These changes aim to keep pace with the platform's growth and put more pressure on creators to build large audiences.
“Creators who want to start earning on the platform will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.”
“Currently, creators need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over the past year or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over the past 90 days.”
“The changes make it harder for creators to enter and remain in YouTube's monetization program, especially for Shorts creators.”