Yes. YouTube has announced an 8,000 qualified watch-hour requirement for new applicants seeking ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing, starting 1 February 2027. The hours must fall within the previous 365 days. The alternative is 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days. This is an announced future change: the current watch-hour requirement is still 4,000 as of 7 October 2026. Sources: YouTube's announcement and current eligibility guidance.
A watch hour is 60 minutes of viewing, added across viewers. Ten people watching for six minutes each produce one watch hour.
There is no fixed number of videos you must upload to earn those hours. What matters is how many qualifying views they receive and how long people actually watch. The calculator below turns those two assumptions into a video estimate.
What changes on 1 February 2027?
The YouTube Partner Program, or YPP, is the program that gives eligible creators access to earning features. Different entry levels unlock different features.
| Route | Before 1 February 2027 | From 1 February 2027, for new applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Long-form videos | 4,000 qualified public watch hours in 12 months | 8,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days |
| Shorts alternative | 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days | 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days |
You need one viewing route, rather than both. The current YPP eligibility page also requires 1,000 subscribers, policy compliance, an eligible country, no active Community Guidelines strikes, account security and the required account setup. Meeting the numbers lets you apply; YouTube still reviews your channel.
YouTube says the entry change does not affect creators already in YPP. That does not exempt them from every 2027 change: separate Shorts earnings rules and updated terms also apply. Check the full announcement and your channel's Earn tab for your situation.
The earlier-access tier stays separate. In countries with the expanded YPP, 500 subscribers, three valid public uploads in 90 days and either 3,000 qualified hours in 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days can unlock eligible fan funding and Shopping features. Reaching that tier does not by itself unlock ad revenue sharing. YouTube's announcement says those entry thresholds remain unchanged.
Which watch hours count?
“Qualified” means YouTube accepts the viewing toward the entry requirement. Public long-form videos, including podcasts, and eligible archived livestreams can contribute. Your total watch time in Analytics can include viewing that does not qualify. Use YouTube Studio → Earn to check your progress. See YouTube's qualified-hours explanation.
- Watch time from private, unlisted or deleted videos does not count.
- Viewing from ad campaigns does not count.
- Shorts watch time does not add to the long-form watch-hour target.
- Livestreams that are unlisted, deleted or not saved as video on demand do not count, according to YouTube's eligibility guidance.
The 365-day window looks backward from the date being assessed. It is not a lifetime total: as days pass, older hours fall outside the window. Plan for qualifying viewing within that window, rather than simply adding every hour your channel has ever earned.
Calculator: how many videos do I need?
Enter your current qualified hours, expected views per video and average minutes watched per view. Use comparable public long-form videos to choose realistic assumptions. For a ten-minute upload that people watch for four minutes on average, enter 4 minutes, not 10.
How many videos would you need?
Try your own assumptions for the long-form watch-hour route. Results update as you type.
Use the public watch hours shown in YouTube Studio → Earn.
Your assumption for each upload, not a guaranteed view count.
Use average watch time per view, not the full video length.
Under these assumptions
120 additional videos
- Watch hours remaining
- 8,000 hours
- Watch hours per video
- 66.67 hours
- Additional qualifying views needed
- 120,000 views
Illustrative arithmetic, not a forecast or an eligibility guarantee. Only qualifying public watch time counts: exclude Shorts watch time, ad campaigns, and private, unlisted or deleted videos. This estimate does not model hours expiring from the rolling 365-day window or future views on existing videos, which could reduce the new uploads needed. Videos and views are rounded up; the view total is the minimum at your average watch time.
A simple example: 120 videos at 1,000 views each
These are hypothetical planning examples, starting from zero qualified hours. Each row assumes all the viewing qualifies and arrives within the required window. They are arithmetic, not measured creator outcomes.
| Views per video | Average minutes watched | Videos needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 4 | 120 |
| 2,000 | 4 | 60 |
| 5,000 | 4 | 24 |
| 1,000 | 8 | 60 |
In the first row, 1,000 views × 4 minutes gives 4,000 minutes, or about 66.67 hours per video. Across 120 videos, that makes 480,000 minutes: exactly 8,000 hours. If you already have 2,000 qualified hours that remain in the window, the same assumptions leave 6,000 hours to earn, or 90 additional videos.
The calculation is remaining hours × 60 ÷ (views × minutes watched), rounded up to a whole video. Longer uploads help only if people actually watch longer. Future viewing of existing videos can also contribute, so reaching the target does not necessarily require that many new uploads.
Use your channel's data to improve the estimate
- Start with Earn. Copy your qualified hours and check which requirements YouTube shows for your channel.
- Measure actual viewing. For a comparable video, open Studio → Content → the video → Analytics. Review average view duration and audience retention. If the duration is 4:30, enter 4.5 minutes. Separate ad-driven viewing from your assumptions.
- Try a lower-view scenario. Compare 500 with 1,000 views per video. That shows how much your plan depends on reaching the expected audience.
- Recheck the rolling window. If 500 of your existing 2,000 hours expire before you reach the target, you would need 6,500 new hours rather than 6,000. The calculator does not predict those expirations or your completion date.
Can buying watch hours guarantee monetization?
No. A seller's reported hours do not establish what YouTube will accept. YouTube's fake engagement policy prohibits artificial metric inflation. Artificial traffic can be excluded and policy violations can lead to strikes or channel removal, including when a hired promoter causes them. Keep your plan based on authentic viewing and your Earn progress. Our service-evaluation guideadds questions to ask before paying a third party; it does not override YouTube's rules.
Sources and when this guide was checked
Official sources were checked on 7 October 2026. The 2027 change is announced but has not yet taken effect. Calculator results use only the values you enter; they do not connect to your channel or predict approval, revenue or viewing. Recheck YouTube's announcement, eligibility guidance and Studio's Earn tab when applying.
