{
  "id": 1555188,
  "title": "YouTube to change how it counts video views",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/youtube-to-change-how-it-counts-video-views",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-17T20:23:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2026/08/17/what-counts-as-a-youtube-view/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "YouTube, the world's most widely used video-sharing platform owned by Alphabet, plans to alter how it counts video views beginning August 24. Previously, a view was only counted once a user watched a video for at least 30 seconds. However, with the introduction of YouTube Shorts, which focuses on short-form vertical video content, YouTube began tracking video impressions – the number of times a video's thumbnail or ad appears on a user's screen – as views. YouTube announced the change in response to feedback from content creators who wanted a clearer understanding of their exposure to better explain their reach to advertisers. The new policy aims to standardize view-counting across different formats, providing creators with a more consistent metric to assess their overall exposure and value to brand partners. While some analytics, such as engaged views, will remain unchanged, the update is expected to have minimal impact on content creators' earnings, which are based on engagement metrics. As of February 1, the threshold to earn money from ads and subscriptions will also be doubled, requiring 8,000 watch hours or 20 million views on Shorts within 90 days.",
  "summary": "YouTube , the world's most popular video-sharing platform , will soon change how it counts views after requests from content creators. On Monday, YouTube, owned and operated by Alphabet , said that from August 24, views will be counted starting from whenever the video starts playing on any device. Before the change, users had to linger on a video for a period of time before a view was counted.…",
  "key_points": [
    "YouTube will change view-counting policy starting August 24.",
    "Previously, views required 30 seconds of viewing; now focus on impressions.",
    "Update aims to standardize view-counting across formats."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "YouTube to change how it counts video views",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/youtube-to-change-how-it-counts-video-views-1557535",
        "published": "2026-08-17T20:23:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}