The Double Edged Sword of Monetization: YouTube's New Watch Hours Threshold YouTube has introduced a new requirement for creators to monetize their content, sparking controversy among the creator community.
Starting February 1, new creators will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to begin earning money from ads and subscriptions.
This change is part of YouTube's efforts to keep pace with its explosive growth. The platform now sees over 200 billion daily Shorts views and a staggering 1 billion hours of watch time on TV every day.