YouTube rolls out 'Hype' feature globally to boost smaller creators
The new Hype button, located just below the "like" button, will be available on videos from creators with fewer than 500,000 subscribers. It has launched across 39 countries, including India, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Korea, and Indonesia.
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YouTube's new fan engagement tool, "Hype," is officially rolling out worldwide, the company announced on Tuesday.
First unveiled at Google's Made On YouTube event in 2024, the feature allows passionate viewers to help their favourite creators get discovered and gain visibility on the platform.
The new Hype button, located just below the "like" button, will be available on videos from creators with fewer than 500,000 subscribers. It has launched across 39 countries, including India, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Korea, and Indonesia.
Fans can hype up to three videos per week. Each hype adds points to the video, helping it climb a new ranked leaderboard accessible under the Explore tab. To level the playing field, YouTube says smaller creators will receive a bigger boost when their fans hype their videos.
Videos with a hype boost will display a "hyped" badge, and viewers can even filter their Home feed to watch only hyped videos. YouTube will also notify fans when a video they supported is close to making it onto the leaderboard. Dedicated supporters can earn a monthly "hype star" badge, highlighting their loyalty.
"YouTube introduced Hype after noticing that passionate fans wanted to be a part of a creator's success story," the company said. But the feature is also set to become a new monetization stream.
Paid hypes, currently being tested in Brazil and Turkey, will eventually allow fans to purchase additional boosts for their favourite creators, TechCrunch reported.
Looking ahead, YouTube plans to launch interest-based hype leaderboards in categories like gaming and style. Fans will also soon be able to share when they've hyped a video. For creators, tracking hype will be integrated into the YouTube Studio app, with dedicated analytics cards and weekly recaps.
