--- title: 'The Sad Future of the New YouTube (Get Ready for 2026)' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=uE43KgpsdgY' video_id: 'uE43KgpsdgY' date: 2026-08-06 duration_sec: 894 --- # The Sad Future of the New YouTube (Get Ready for 2026) > Source: [The Sad Future of the New YouTube (Get Ready for 2026)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=uE43KgpsdgY) ## Summary Eric Alanis, a creator with over 10 automated channels earning five figures monthly, discusses YouTube's upcoming changes in 2025 and 2026. He emphasizes a shift from chasing views to optimizing RPM (revenue per mille), the rise of extreme content lengths (shorts and long-form), the growing importance of TV viewership, and the need for authenticity in an AI-saturated environment. ### Key Points - **YouTube's 2025 Transformation** [00:02] — YouTube will change completely in 2025; creators who adapt will dominate, others may be left behind. YouTube's Culture Trends Reports reveal shifts in how channels grow. - **From Fame to Attention** [01:11] — YouTube no longer pays for fame but for attention. The algorithm recommends videos based on audience interests, not just subscriptions, allowing small channels to get millions of views. - **RPM as the Key Metric** [01:48] — RPM (revenue per 1000 views) is the most important metric. Millions of views with low RPM earn little, while a small channel with 200-300k views can earn thousands if RPM is high. - **Quality over Quantity** [02:29] — Relying on virality is unsustainable. Focus on optimizing traffic quality, choosing the right niche, and understanding the audience's purchasing power. High-RPM niches include US politics, finance, business, tech, and personal development in US/Northern Europe. - **Actionable RPM Boosters** [03:34] — Analyze YouTube Studio's monetization tab to find videos with higher RPM, and create more channels in proven high-RPM niches. - **The Extremes: Shorts and Long-Form** [03:59] — Best-performing videos are either very short (Shorts) or very long (40+ minutes). Medium-length videos (10-20 min) are losing impact. Long videos have higher RPM due to more ad exposure. - **TV Viewing: The New Netflix** [06:19] — YouTube is increasingly watched on TV. This changes content consumption: viewers want background-friendly, longer content. TV ads are more expensive, boosting RPM for channels catering to this audience. - **AI and Saturation** [08:02] — AI lowers entry barriers but increases competition. Standing out requires execution and authenticity, not just ideas. Generic, soulless AI content is being penalized. - **Consistency and Loyalty** [09:37] — Channels that publish consistently with stable quality win. YouTube values audience loyalty; if viewers watch multiple videos weekly, the algorithm promotes the channel more. - **Stricter Enforcement and Bans** [10:39] — YouTube is increasingly banning channels for misleading, repetitive, or inauthentic content. It detects behavioral patterns, IP addresses, and content similarities. Avoid adding multiple managers to a channel. ### Conclusion YouTube's future rewards authentic, high-quality content that generates high RPM, whether through short or long-form, and adapts to TV viewing. Creators must focus on differentiation and audience loyalty to thrive. ## Transcript important report of the year. And if you have a faceless channel, are thinking of creating one, or even already manage any kind of YouTube channel, this could be the most important video you see all year, because there's something creators aren't seeing coming. YouTube is going to change completely in 2025, and those who adapt sooner will dominate the game, while others will be left behind wondering what happened to their channels and will probably have to abandon this business model. YouTube recently published its Culture Trends Reports, information that could completely change how channels grow on many will see this information as a threat, we should growth opportunity if we know how to leverage it. And that [music] is exactly what we'll see in this video. My name is Eric Alanis, I own more than 10 automated channels and I generate more than five figures a month with all these channels. And today I'm here to tell you about all these important changes. Before, everyone on YouTube was obsessed with subscribers and views. The goal was to grow, to reach 100,000 subscribers, a million, whatever it took. But that attention is no longer relevant, because YouTube doesn't pay for fame, it pays for attention. The algorithm doesn't focus on who you are, but on how much interest your own content generates. What interests him is that all the videos attract the public's attention [music] and attract advertisers. That's why YouTube is increasingly recommending videos based on all those audience interests, not just the channels they're subscribed to. [music] Thus, a small channel may have very few of millions [music] of views. And this is where the most important metric comes in , RPM, which is what YouTube [music] pays you for every 1000 views. For many years people focused on accumulating a lot of visits, but today that is no longer enough. You can have millions of views, but earn very little money if the RPM [music] is low. In contrast, a small channel with 200,000 or 300,000 visits can generate thousands of euros if, obviously, it works at the correct RPM. I have seen it time and time again with my students. Some get millions of visits, but their income is not reflected in that volume, simply because they are in saturated niches and with purchasing power. Others with much less traffic generate much more revenue because their audience, their traffic, is made up of much more qualified people, that is, people with much greater purchasing power, and that is much more valuable, obviously, for advertisers. The problem with relying solely on virality is that you can't sustain it over time. Being constantly viral [in music] is impossible. That's why, right now, the important thing is not to chase quantity, but to optimize the quality of all that traffic, choose the right niche [music], understand who you're talking to and where they're watching from. Low RPM channels are the most general channels, children's channels, travel channels, entertainment channels, or video game channels. They have a large audience, obviously yes, but they also have advertisers who that talk about more specific things [music] such as US politics , finance, business, technology, or personal development in US or Northern European markets tend to have a much advertisers invest more money, and that translates into more revenue. That's why the new mindset you need to have in 2026 with YouTube is that the goal is not to have more views, but to get paid more money for each view. And that is achieved by choosing the right niche, understanding the type of audience you want to attract, and leaving behind the " shiny object syndrome" of wanting to open any niche. Two things you can do right now to increase your RPM are to go to YouTube Studio and analyze which videos have significantly higher RPM in the monetization tab. And the next thing you can do is, if you've tested a niche and already verified that it has a good RPM, simply create many more channels related to that topic. Another important change we're seeing on making a lot of money. These days, the videos that perform best are either the shortest or the longest. No middle ground whatsoever. On one hand there are shorts, content that is quick and easy to consume. More and more people are preferring that type of content. They are short, entertaining, and perfect for capturing people's attention in just a few seconds . In fact, there are creators have the 100,000 subscriber or even one million many other people are earning money thanks to these short videos. On the other hand, there is long content, which lasts 40, 50 minutes or even an hour. This is the type of content that I personally work on and that is also growing more and more on the YouTube platform. This type of content has a great advantage: the RPM is much higher for the simple reason that if a person spends more time watching your content, they will see more ads YouTube will pay you more. Think of it this way. If someone uploads a 15- minute video with 50% retention, which is very difficult, the average retention time will be about 7 and a half minutes . But if on the other hand a person uploads content of one hour and has a 20% retention rate, it retention. In other words, even though retention is much lower, in the end the viewer has spent more time consuming your content, which is exactly what YouTube rewards. That's why medium-length videos, videos of 10 or 20 impact; they don't generate the retention of short videos or the viewership of long videos. So the smartest strategy is to go to one of the two extremes. Either you learn to master short content or you learn to master long content. Personally, I'm still opting for long videos right now. I find it more stable, more profitable, and easier to build in the long term. But I do n't rule out trying short films in the future to test new formats and new channels. A good way to detect opportunities is to observe very good numbers. If you see that they're doing well with short videos, you can long videos, because it will have more depth, more value, and a longer retention time. That can use right now on YouTube. Another change that's happening right now on YouTube is that there are more and more TV users. YouTube is computers. YouTube is the new Netflix. Millions of people put it on their televisions to watch documentaries or movies. And that changes person switches to watching the content on television, the experience is completely different. You're no longer competing for seconds of attention like on mobile. You're accompanying the viewer for much longer, and that forces you to think about a different kind of content. You have to put yourself in the spectator's shoes and think about what that person is doing. He's relaxing on the sofa, probably with the TV on while he's having dinner or doing other things, and he doesn't want to be watching short videos that force him to What he's looking for is to leave something that can play in the background, that flows and teaches something while that person is disconnecting. And this is where long videos become a huge opportunity, because that type of consumption generates many more minutes of playback, more retention, and above all, much more advertising revenue. Television ads are longer, more expensive for advertisers, and therefore increase the RPM of channels that Furthermore, when your content is well-suited to the television experience, with a more leisurely pace, good audio quality, fluid narrative, and a captivating story, people keep watching for much longer, and this multiplies the video's visibility because YouTube rewards content that keeps users on the platform for longer periods . So what you can do is look for niches where you think that type of audience will be on television, or analyze your own videos and see what content is most watched on television and do more of that. YouTube channel; you literally no longer need a budget, expensive editing equipment, or to hire a huge team. With artificial intelligence you scripts, you can generate voices, you can generate your own thumbnails, you can do it all. This has caused the number of creators to skyrocket and has led to increased competition within the platform. But that growth also has a consequence, [music] saturation. Every day there are thousands of new videos that try to capture attention with exactly the same ideas, the same titles, and the same thumbnails. So standing out no longer depends solely on having a good idea, but on how you execute it. problem is that most people do it soullessly. They upload impersonal videos with generic voices, with scripts that are very obviously all those channels don't care about the consumer experience, and it shows. Today, people value authenticity, even if it's on faceless channels. They don't care if the voice behind it is created by a human being or created with artificial intelligence. What they want is coherence and good content. Therefore, more than creating videos, we need to create an experience. If you use artificial intelligence, use it to enhance completely. Create an avatar with personality, design a recognizable visual style, and use a voice that sounds close and real. Think about how to make people stay until the end of the video, not just how to attract them with a simple thumbnail and a simple title. Another thing that makes a difference is saturated environment, the channels that publish consistently and maintain stable quality are the ones that end up winning. You don't need to upload videos every day, but you do need to offer something predictable, something that the viewer can expect and recognize. Furthermore, today YouTube values audience loyalty much more. It's not about how many people discover you, but about how many people watch you again. If you manage to get a viewer to watch three or four videos in a single week, the algorithm detects it and starts promoting you more and more. That's why you have to build a solid brand, even if it's with an automated channel. That allows you to grow in a more stable and lasting way. In short, artificial intelligence has made it easier to get in, but it has also raised the bar for the game. The difficult part is no longer starting, the difficult part is differentiating yourself. If you can combine the efficiency of artificial intelligence with a good, authentic proposition and a good user experience, your channel can stand out even among thousands of competitors. Those who simply copy or look for shortcuts fall behind, but those who build something real, even without showing their face, will be the ones who bring the real opportunities. This point is very important and is directly connected to everything mentioned above because it reflects where YouTube is moving as a platform. I'm seeing more and more cases of channels that are going down, being banned, or simply ceasing to be monetized without prior notice. And it's not just small or new channels; it's also happening with networks of channels that have worked very well for years. The main reason is that strict about the type of content it allows. It's no longer enough to upload eye-catching videos or clickbait. Those types of strategies that used to work can now jeopardize your channel. YouTube is increasingly penalizing content that is considered misleading, repetitive, or inauthentic. And needs to protect its reputation with advertisers. Brands invest hundreds of billions in advertising within the platform, and if the content that appears alongside the ads is of low quality or seems mass-generated with artificial intelligence, they simply stop cleaning up the ecosystem; it wants to build something more genuine, more human, and problem is that there are more and more new creators, and that forces YouTube to regulate much more strictly. The more channels appear, the more filters are eliminating many creators who cannot adapt to the new format. I've seen cases of people who had five or ten channels and had them suddenly deleted now detect behavioral patterns, identify IP addresses, analyze content similarities, and even detect if multiple channels are managed from the same account. Therefore, one recommendation I give you is not to add too many people to the same channel, that is, don't add anyone to permissions in YouTube Studio. Ideally, the channel should not have any additional roles; you should be the only one managing that channel. When YouTube detects that you have multiple editors or contributors, it may interpret it as an automated or agency channel, and that obviously reduces your level of trust. In summary, the message is clear. YouTube wants to protect the quality of the platform and increase advertiser confidence. That means it will increasingly reward authentic content with a good voice, a good script, and that obviously doesn't look mass-produced. If you can adapt to that, you will not you will also be better positioned to grow in this new stage where the value is no longer in producing more, but in producing better. Now that you've watched this video YouTube is headed, I want to introduce you to the 1 of 10 Academy, a program designed to help you build a profitable channel from scratch or transform the one you already have into a real source of income. At the academy, we work with results or who want to take their business to the next level, and we help them generate €3,000, €5,000. There are even people who are generating more than €10,000 a month by applying a proven, step-by- step system. This is not theory; it is a method that has already been used by more than 400 people, and today a large part of all those people are already making a living from it, from the income generated by their channels. We even have an entire channel dedicated to real testimonials where you can see stories of students who started completely from scratch and incredible results that have completely changed their lives. Within the academy you will find not only training, but also an active and share what is working for us and give each other feedback on everything. In addition, you will have the opportunity to contact me directly, and not only will you have direct contact with me, but also with other mentors from other sectors such as artificial intelligence, workflows and systems, extra questions and thumbnails. In that way, we will all help you and speed up the whole process. If you believe this is your moment and you want YouTube to become income, you can click on the first link in the description. There you will find a form to apply and to schedule a consulting call with me or with people from my team. In that call we will review your current situation and see if we can truly help you. And if everything makes sense, we'll work to achieve those results that hundreds of other people have already achieved before you. So remember, the sky's not the limit, you set the limit. I'll see you at the first link in the description.