- I'm sure that you will already know
that if you're working towards
monetizing your YouTube channel,
you need 1,000 subscribers and
4,000 hours of watch time over 12 months.
But what does 12 months mean?
As we move from 2018 to 2019, does that reset everything?
We've got the answer, let's do this.
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YouTube have a support page about this question,
which we will leave a link to in the video description.
It directly states that you are eligible
to apply for the YouTube partner program,
that's monetization to you and me,
if you meet all of these requirements.
1,000 subscribers is a fixed number,
and there is no time limit to reach this,
but you must have 4,000 watch hours
in the previous 12 months.
So, in a nutshell, you need 4,000 hours of watch time
in the last 12 months, up until today's date,
whatever date that is.
Let's say it's January the first.
YouTube will count all of the watch time on your channel,
dating back to January the second of the previous year.
Then, when the date moves forward to January the second,
it counts the date all the way back to January the third.
So it effectively counts the last 365 days
worth of watch time on your channel.
This is why your watch time may actually go down,
as you are trying to achieve 4,000 hours of watch time.
As an example, list channel had a big spike in watch time
almost 12 months ago, and then as time moves forward,
they lose that spike in watch time.
The channel hasn't performed as well,
so they have less watch time over the last 12 months.
Let's say then, in 2018 you got 3,000 hours of watch time.
That's awesome.
As we move into 2019, you're going to lose
a tiny fraction of that, so just keep working hard,
and you'll be at 4,000 hours of watch time, very soon.
And another thing, you don't have to wait
12 months to hit monetization.
If you get 4,000 hours of watch time in three months,
that's awesome, you'll just need 1,000 subscribers,
and then you're eligible immediately.
And remember, that's eligible.
You've got to apply and then be approved
before you can start monetizing your content.
If you're still finding this all a little confusing,
we have the perfect tool which will tell you
exactly what you need to know.
If you have the VidIQ Chrome extension installed,
you will find this real time stats bar,
on the top of every single YouTube page
on your desktop layout.
This shows you your channel analytics in real time.
But here's where the magic happens.
If your channel has less than
4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months,
it automatically adds a new analytic to the left,
which is your monetization analytics target.
In this example, the channel has
3,100 hours of watch time in the last 12 months.
You can also quickly see the number of subscribers
you have on your channel, as well,
on the right-hand side of the real time stats bar.
But we're not finished there.
Because if you mouse over the graph button to the right,
this will show you a full breakdown of your channel,
including the watch time over the last 12 months,
at the very top of these charts.
You'll also see a percentage progress bar
on the right-hand side,
telling you exactly how close you are
to hitting 4,000 hours of watch time.
Oh, and one more thing.
When you're under 4,000 hours of watch time,
this analytic will remain amber.
Once you surpass 4,000 hours of watch time,
congratulations, you've hit the target!
When you surpass 5,000 hours of watch time,
this analytic removes itself from the real time stats bar,
as you no longer need it.
And since we understand that this is
a goal to monetize your content,
this real time stats bar is completely free,
as part of the VidIQ Chrome extension.
It is a no-brainer, download it right now.
One more question, I know what you want to ask.
I've got 4,000 hours of watch time,
I've monetized my content, but then I fall below
4,000 hours of watch time over 12 months.
What happens then?
The good news is that YouTube won't automatically
remove you from the partner program
if you fall below 4,000 hours of watch time,
but it does reserve the right to.
For example, if you stop posting on YouTube,
and it's clear that you're inactive.
So don't panic, there is no 2019
YouTube watch time reset button.
Just keep working hard,
and you'll reach that goal in no time.
If you have even more questions
about 4,000 hours of watch time,
believe it or not, we've done a mammoth guide here,
and monetization, in general, is a huge topic on YouTube,
and we've got a huge playlist down here.
We'll see you on either of those videos right now.
Enjoy the rest of your video making day!