Join us on July 30 in NYC for a breakfast & panel
How YouTube is calculating creators’ ad-revenue shares for Shorts
Starting next month, YouTube will share ad revenue with Shorts creators. However, the originator of the creator ad revenue-sharing program has introduced a new twist with its short-form video service.
Unlike YouTube’s traditional revenue-sharing program or TikTok’s revenue-sharing program Pulse, YouTube is not attaching ads to individual Shorts videos in order to directly split revenue with creators and publishers. Instead, it will pool revenue to divvy up among eligible Shorts makers — but only after accounting for the platform’s music licensing costs.
In other words, the YouTube Shorts revenue-sharing model isn’t as simple as “advertiser pays platform, platform gives creator a cut.” Calculating how YouTube Shorts ad revenue will be split is more like doing taxes than basic arithmetic, as the video below breaks down.
More in Future of TV
Future of TV Briefing: The M&A match game (summer 2026 edition)
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the M&A deals that should be in the offing after an active first half of 2026.
Future of TV Briefing: The 5 biggest news stories of 2026 so far
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks back at the most significant developments — or non-developments– in the TV, streaming and digital video industry during the first half of 2026.
Walmart buys ‘the Google Ads of streaming’ Vibe in a deal tipped at a $1 billion-plus valuation
The deal would bring Vibe’s 10,000 SME advertisers to the platform, equipping Walmart to better compete with Meta and Pinterest.