While the 1,000-subscriber requirement remains, these new thresholds represent a significant increase from the previous benchmarks of 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views.
The company stated these updates are necessary to keep pace with the platform's massive growth, which includes over 200 billion daily Shorts views and more than a billion hours of daily TV watch time.
By raising the barrier to entry, YouTube is placing more pressure on new creators to build and sustain large audiences before they can begin earning a share of advertising or subscription revenue.
This shift occurs as competitors like X and Facebook also revise their payout structures to reward original content or attract talent from rival platforms.
Existing members of the YouTube Partner Program will not be removed if they fall below the new entry requirements, though Shorts creators must maintain 10 million views every 90 days to continue receiving payments from the Shorts creator pool.
To help offset the higher entry requirements for partners, YouTube is expanding its "Premium Lite" subscription—a lower-cost, ad-free tier—to all markets where its standard Premium service is available.
The company claims this expansion will increase the pool of subscription revenue shared with creators, as members typically generate higher earnings for partners than viewers who watch ads.