YouTube has launched its Hype feature globally, designed to support small content creators. Last year, the feature was piloted in Turkey and Brazil, and as of this week, it became available in 39 countries.

YouTube has launched its Hype feature globally.

The Hype feature caters to channels with fewer than 500,000 subscribers. Viewers increase the visibility of these channels by awarding “Hype points” to videos they like. A viewer can give a video 870 Hype points at a time, and they receive three free Hype points per week. Users can purchase more Hype points if they wish.

The more Hype points a video accumulates, the higher it rises in YouTube’s Explore section. The platform creates a special ranking listing the top 100 videos with the most Hype points by country. Currently, the hundredth video on this list has a score of 275,000.

If a video that has received Hype enters the rankings, YouTube notifies the user and allows them to track this ranking. Additionally, users who regularly engage in Hype each month receive a special badge.

In addition to subscription and ad revenue, Hype is seen as part of YouTube’s efforts to support small and medium-sized channels. The platform aims to increase viewer engagement and create a broader content pool by highlighting more content with this feature.

How Hype points will be integrated into the monetization model is not yet clear, but the platform is expected to make an announcement on this topic soon.