4,000 Watch Hours and 1,000 Subscribers: Why Watch Time Doesn’t Increase and How It’s Officially Counted (2026 Guide)

Reaching 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers may look simple on paper, but many creators face confusing questions:

• Why does watch time in the Earn tab stay unchanged while analytics grow?

• Do Shorts hours count?

• Are old live streams included?

• Does repeated viewing from the same person count?

In this guide, you’ll understand exactly what counts toward YouTube ad-revenue eligibility—and how to reach it safely with a practical plan.

The Core Rule: What Counts Toward 4,000 Watch Hours?

YouTube eligibility depends on:

• 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months
  OR

• 1,000 subscribers + 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days

Importantly, Shorts watch time from the Shorts feed does not count toward the 4,000-hour requirement.

Counted watch time

• Public watch hours from long-form videos.

Not counted

• Private, unlisted, or deleted videos.

• Watch time generated through ad campaigns.

• Shorts watch hours within the 4,000-hour rule.

• Live streams that are deleted, unlisted, or not converted to VOD.

In short:
4K watch hours = public long-form watch time within the last 12 months.

Why Watch Time May Not Increase Despite More Views

Common reasons include:

• Your videos are unlisted or private, so hours don’t count.

• You rely heavily on Shorts, whose watch time doesn’t count toward 4K hours.

• Old live streams weren’t saved as public VOD.

• Watch time came from paid ads, which are excluded.

• Eligibility uses a rolling 365-day window, so older hours drop off.

• YouTube may pause counting while verifying engagement quality.

• Low retention or very short videos slow overall watch-hour growth.

Does Rewatching the Same Video Count?

• Natural repeat viewing by real users can count.

• Artificial repetition (multiple tabs, devices, or loops) may be flagged as
  low-quality playback and excluded, sometimes freezing metrics.

Real audience value—not artificial looping—is the safest path to monetization.

Why Earn Tab Numbers Differ from Analytics

The Earn tab may update slower than analytics:

• Eligibility updates can take several days or up to about a week.

• Only watch hours within the last 365 days are included.

Use:

• Analytics → daily performance tracking.

• Earn → official monetization eligibility confirmation.

Do Old Live Streams Count Toward 4,000 Hours?

Yes—only if:

• The stream is public.

• It remains available as a saved VOD.

• It falls within the last 12 months.

Otherwise, it won’t count toward eligibility.

Practical Strategy to Reach 4,000 Watch Hours Faster

A safer growth plan includes:

• Create a series of 6 long videos (8–15 minutes) around one topic.

• Deliver a strong result-focused opening to improve retention.

• Link episodes via playlists, end screens, and pinned comments.

• Track weekly goals like:

  • Higher average watch duration

  • Better 30-second retention

  • Improved CTR from titles/thumbnails

• Use Shorts for discovery, then direct viewers to long videos
  to build valid watch hours.

Key Takeaway

If you truly want to achieve 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers,
focus only on what officially counts:

• Public long-form videos

• Watch time within the last 12 months

• Real audience engagement—not artificial views

With this clarity, monetization stops being confusing numbers
and becomes a clear, achievable milestone.