Premiere YouTube

What is a Premiere on YouTube?

A Premiere on YouTube is a scheduled debut of a pre-recorded video that the creator and viewers watch together in real time, with live chat running next to the player. The video goes live at a set time behind a countdown and then stays on the channel as a regular upload.

A Premiere combines the reach of a normal upload with the shared-moment feel of a live stream: viewers gather on a public watch page before the start, and once the countdown ends everyone sees the same moment at the same time.

How a Premiere works

Before the start

YouTube creates a public watch page as soon as the Premiere is scheduled, so you can share the link in advance. Anyone can open it, set a reminder, comment or chat; viewers who set a reminder get a notification about 30 minutes before the start and another one when it begins. Premieres also show up in search, on the homepage and in recommendations, so the YouTube algorithm treats the watch page much like a regular upload.

During the Premiere

A live countdown video plays 2 minutes before the start. When it ends, everyone watches the video together: viewers can rewind, but can't skip ahead of the live point, and chat stays open the whole way through.

After the Premiere

The video remains on the channel as a regular upload without the countdown, chat replay stays available, and views from the Premiere transfer to the video. Performance data appears in YouTube Analytics.

How to schedule a Premiere

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio and click Create → Upload videos. Shorts, 360/VR180 video and output above 1080p aren't supported for Premieres.

2. Select the video and enter its details.

3. To premiere immediately, click Save or publish → Public → Set as instant Premiere — the Premiere starts as soon as processing finishes.

4. To schedule it for later, click Schedule, pick the date and time and check Set as Premiere.

5. Click Set up Premiere to choose a countdown theme and length, then click Done or Schedule.

In the YouTube mobile app, choose Set as Premiere on the "Set visibility" page.

Earning and fan features during a Premiere

Channels with access to advertising revenue can turn on ads for the Premiere: pre-roll ads run during it, while mid-roll and post-roll ads are unavailable until it ends — after that, the channel's upload default settings apply. Fans can send Super Chat and Super Stickers before and during the Premiere, and channel memberships perks such as members-only chat work as usual, which makes a Premiere a strong moment for fan funding.

You can also add a trailer that plays on the watch page before the start. The full requirements: the feature is available to creators with more than 1,000 subscribers and no Community Guidelines strikes; the trailer must be a YouTube-supported video type, 15 seconds to 3 minutes long, must not infringe on other content or violate Community Guidelines, and can't be a previously premiered video; YouTube recommends the same aspect ratio and resolution as the premiering video.

If the account gets a Community Guidelines strike, the Premiere won't publish during the penalty period: it switches to private and has to be rescheduled once the freeze ends.