Video giant YouTube is making it harder for new creators to kick off earning on its platform, according to newly updated monetization rules announced earlier this week.

The video-sharing platform, which competes with the likes of other popular social media applications such as Meta's Instagram and TikTok, will require new applicants to its revenue program to double their watch hours, it said.

New YouTube Partner Program applicants will need twice as many watch hours, or twice as many Shorts views, to share in ad revenue, starting Feb. 1, 2027.

On Monday, the platform announced that new applicants to the YouTube Partner Program will need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified public watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views over the past 90 days to unlock ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing, Forbes reported, citing the company's new guidelines.

Both performance thresholds are exactly double the current requirements of 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views. The subscriber minimum stays at 1,000.

Google-owned YouTube, which marked 20 years since its launch last year, is increasingly working on maintaining and boosting its viewership as it competes not only with social media rivals but also traditional media outlets, including television.

The platform hosts everything from concert clips to political campaign ads to how-to videos – and much more.

In recent periods, its Shorts section, which features short vertical videos, has also become more popular.

And Shorts creators will face a separate new rule. Regardless of how a channel originally qualified, earning ad and subscription revenue from Shorts will now require 10 million qualified Shorts views over the trailing 90 days, the company announced.