YouTube will raise the bar for new creators who want to earn advertising revenue from the platform.From February 1, 2027, new creators will need 8,000 qualified watch hours within 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days to qualify for full monetisation.
That doubles the current requirement of 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views. YouTube will keep the subscriber requirement at 1,000.The change could make it harder for new Nigerian creators to turn their channels into income-generating businesses.
They will not apply the higher entry requirements to creators who already belong to the YouTube Partner Programme.The company announced the changes as it reviewed how creators qualify for advertising and YouTube Premium revenue.
Moreover more than three million creators already earn through its Partner Programme. It also expects to pay creators more in 2027 than in 2026.
Under the current rules, creators can qualify for full ad revenue with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours within 12 months.They can also qualify through Shorts by reaching 10 million valid public Shorts views within 90 days.
YouTube will double both requirements from February.The long-form threshold will rise to 8,000 watch hours. The Shorts threshold will rise to 20 million views.That could extend the time new creators spend building an audience before YouTube starts sharing advertising revenue with them.
For example, a creator who reaches 4,000 watch hours after the new rules take effect will only have completed half the requirement.YouTube also places limits on the watch time it counts.The platform counts eligible watch hours from public long-form videos. It does not count watch time from private, unlisted or deleted videos.
Views from the Shorts Feed also do not count towards the long-form watch-hour requirement.The changes come as YouTube continues to record strong audience growth.The platform says users now watch more than 200 billion Shorts every day. People also watch more than one billion hours of YouTube content on television screens each day.
For YouTube, the higher threshold creates a tougher test for creators who want a share of that advertising business.For creators, it raises another question: how long can they fund content before their channels start generating ad revenue?
Also Read: Africa’s Creator Economy May Hit $17.8bn by 2030, but Most Creators are Still Poorly Paid
Smaller Creators Can Earn Before Monetisation Starts
YouTube will keep its lower entry level for creators who want access to selected earning tools.Creators can currently enter this tier with 500 subscribers and at least three public uploads within 90 days.
They must also record either 3,000 valid public watch hours within 12 months or three million valid Shorts views within 90 days.YouTube says it will keep these requirements unchanged.Creators who qualify can access features such as channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks. Eligible creators can also use YouTube Shopping.
However, this lower tier does not give creators full advertising and YouTube Premium revenue sharing.That distinction matters for people who treat YouTube as a business.A creator could start earning directly from fans before generating enough traffic for full advertising revenue.
The model could become more important for Nigerian creators after YouTube raises the main entry threshold.Creators may need to combine several income sources. These could include sponsorships, brand partnerships, memberships, courses, products and services.
Relying only on YouTube advertising could become harder for a new channel.
Shorts Monetisation Gets a YouTube Update Too
YouTube will introduce another rule for Shorts creators from February 1.
Creators already in the Partner Programme will need 10 million qualified Shorts views within the previous 90 days to receive advertising and Premium revenue from Shorts.This is different from the new 20-million-view requirement for creators who want to enter full monetisation through Shorts.
YouTube will not remove a creator from the Partner Programme simply because their Shorts views fall below 10 million.Instead, the platform will stop sharing Shorts advertising revenue with that channel.
The creator can continue earning from eligible long-form content and other available features.YouTube will restart Shorts revenue sharing once the channel reaches the 10-million-view threshold again.
This change puts more pressure on Shorts creators to maintain high viewing numbers, not just reach them once.For Nigerian creators, that could make revenue planning more difficult.A viral period may produce strong income, but creators will need to maintain audience attention if they want steady Shorts revenue.
The wider lesson for small creator businesses is simple. YouTube can provide income, but creators may need a business model that extends beyond platform advertising.They can build communities, sell services, secure brand deals or create products around their audiences.
The higher threshold does not take effect until February 1, 2027.Until then, new creators can still qualify for full monetisation under the existing 4,000-watch-hour or 10-million-Shorts-view requirements.For creators already close to those numbers, the remaining months provide an opportunity to qualify before YouTube raises the bar.
The new rules strengthen the case for treating a creator channel as a business with several revenue streams.
A creator can use YouTube to build trust and then earn through products or services. A business educator could sell training. A food creator could build a product brand. A technology channel could combine advertising with sponsorships and affiliate partnerships.
The right mix depends on the creator and audience.The principle remains the same: a creator controls less risk when one platform does not provide all the income.
BEA’s previous creator-economy reporting found that multi-platform activity already acts as a form of risk management for African creators. Larger creators often spread their work across several platforms instead of relying on one algorithm or payout system