YouTube changes how views are counted
What's the story
YouTube has announced a major change in its view-counting system. The platform will now count a view as soon as a video starts playing or when someone enters a live broadcast. This is different from the previous understanding where a view was counted after at least 30 seconds of viewing. The change comes after YouTube applied the same method for counting views on Shorts videos last year.
Creator concerns
Change after feedback from creators
YouTube's decision to change its view-counting system comes after feedback from creators who wanted more clarity on their exposure.
In a community post, the company acknowledged that it had used different view counting systems across formats.
However, it also noted that creators wanted to eliminate metric confusion and accurately understand their true exposure, which is why this update was necessary.
Potential implications
Public view counts may become less reliable
The new view-counting system could result in a major increase in YouTube's view counts, particularly for videos that don't hold viewers' attention for long.
This could make public view counts less reliable for creators and advertisers trying to gage a video's popularity.
However, YouTube plans to keep the original metric, "Engaged Views," available through its Analytics tools. This will let creators see how many viewers chose to continue watching their videos.
Monetization update
No impact on creators' earnings
YouTube's new view-counting system won't impact creators' earnings or their eligibility for monetization through the YouTube Partner Program.
The update will come into effect on August 24, a week after YouTube announced new guidelines for creators to start earning money from ads and subscriptions next year.
Under these rules, creators will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours in the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days to start earning on the platform.