YouTube will require new entrants to the YouTube Partner Program to reach either 8,000 long-form watch hours over the previous 365 days or 20 million Shorts views over 90 days starting February 1, 2027, doubling the current 4,000-hour and 10 million-view performance thresholds in the platform's first major monetization overhaul since 2018. Existing program members will not be subject to the new entry rules, but Shorts revenue sharing will require creators' valid Shorts views to exceed 10 million over 90 days; channels that fall below that mark will remain in the program and keep earning from long-form videos until eligibility resumes automatically. YouTube tied the tougher bar to platform growth, saying Shorts now draw more than 200 billion daily views and TV screens account for more than 1 billion watch hours a day. The company is also expanding Premium Lite to every market where YouTube Premium is offered, allocating 30% of net subscription revenue from Premium and 60% from Premium Lite to creator pools distributed by subscriber watch time and views, with creator-side splits of 55% for long-form and 45% for Shorts. YouTube said viewing by Premium members generated more revenue for creators on average than ad-supported viewing in 2026, and it plans additional incentives such as Shopping bonuses, brand-deal support and trend-based rewards while leaving Super Chat and shopping eligibility unchanged.