YouTube will require 8000 qualified watch hours or 20M short views to get monetized

[Venusaur]

The change is going into effect starting February 1, 2027.

Source: https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-partner-program-updates-2027-new-opportunities-earn/

 

[itsworth]

Well, of course youtube is doing that to take longer to pay creators... but at the same time, it'll affect people that create dark channels. I don't think it will make people give up on that though, i think this will just increase the ammount of content created with ai

 

[CodeMason]

It’s because people are now using AI heavily to create content, and YouTube is getting overloaded with new channels. It’s actually a good thing to have these requirements.

 

[GTC]

it'll affect people that create dark channels

What do you mean by dark channels?

 

[Reds100]

This is a good thing, it will mean less competition and more chance for people that actually have good content, the adage stands that if you make good content then you will succeed, if you resonate in your niche and actually resonate with consumers then people will watch. People that already struggle to hit the current reqs will drop off because they feel like they are twice as far away.

The more that drop off the better it is for everyone else. I actually just watched a video of a creator that is complaining because he feels like he won't be able to sustain the 90 day period. These are the sort of people that may chuck it in.

 

[Reds100]

Youtube probably wants to increase revenue so yea it sucks because they still make money on your content until you fill the reqs if you are not there yet, but its also probably a double edge sword YT is popular so they need a way to lessen their expenditures where taking longer for new creators to earn anything would be a governor on their expenditures. Sure it sounds bad for the creators but you have to think they need to look out for their interests too. I am sure YT is a money machine internally but it would mean that they have a large overhead, lots of money in usually means lots of money out.

Having a way to slow the money going out is better for them.

 

[SEOBella]

The numbers are definitely getting harder to hit, especially with Shorts. It makes consistent content and audience retention even more important than just chasing views.

 

[Panther28]

Got this table from claude

Base numbers

• Target: 9,000 hours/year = 540,000 minutes/year
• Videos: 300

Breakdown	Value
Total minutes needed (year)	540,000 min
Total minutes needed (month)	45,000 min
Per video, per year	1,800 min (30 hrs)
Per video, per month	150 min (2.5 hrs)
Per video, per week	~34.6 min
Per video, per day	~4.9 min

Now translated into views (since watch time = views × average view duration):

If avg view duration is...	Views needed per video/year	Views needed per video/month
1 minute	1,800 views	150 views
2 minutes	900 views	75 views
3 minutes	600 views	50 views
5 minutes	360 views	30 views
10 minutes	180 views	15 views

 

[medialounge]

YouTube has finally introduced a sieve. This will separate real, raw, talented creators from just the AI vibe creators. It's commendable.

 

[Venusaur]

What do you mean by dark channels?

Dark channels in some countries mean faceless channels, those channels where there is no person showing their face

 

[Uringlac]

They are trying to filter out low quality channels. It's not good news for content creators because generating views on YouTube is more difficult now.

 

[Starblazer]

This should encourage more people to focus on other platforms like X and IG where there are lesser limits. Newbies should also consider other sources of revenue like affiliate marketing instead of depending solely on Youtube monetization.

 

[doofenspritz]

Is this for new accounts created today or next year, are we safe to create accounts until end of year?

 

[seoworld983]

Is this for new accounts created today or next year, are we safe to create accounts until end of year?

It will start from Feb 1, 2027 so next year, till that time create more channels and get 4000 watch hour as soon as you can.

 

[MJTechPark]

Focus on your content and storytelling. This type of things is secondary. and if you are feeling worried then let me tell you crossing just this criteria will never get you enough monetization. so focus on content and storytelling this is easily achievable and will benefit you in a long run.

 

[GFXnext]

I think this is not right decision