Exclusive: YouTube speaks on monetisation of religious channels, reacts to Hallelujah Challenge
- There have been social media comments around the monetisation status of Nathaniel Bassey's Hallelujah Challenge
- Nathaniel Bassey confirmed that the Hallelujah Challenge program is not monetised as he is following divine instructions
- Some social media users estimate that he could make over N1 billion if the program is to be monetised on YouTube
- Legit.ng contacted YouTube, and the platform spoke on monetisation guidelines for creators who wish to monetise their channel
Hallelujah Challenge, a Christian praise event started by gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey, has gone global and become highly popular on social media.
The event is usually streamed live on YouTube for people to tune in. Millions of people watch the program.
Source: UGC
Why Hallelujah Challenge is not monetised
Nathaniel Bassey has said the program is not monetised, noting that he did not receive the divine direction to monetise it.
His words, per FRCN:
“People are dragging me because I didn’t monetise my YouTube channel for the Hallelujah Challenge. I won’t monetise it; God didn’t tell me to."
Legit.ng analysed Nanthaniel Bassey's main Channel to see if the Hallelujah Challenge program is monetised and found that it is not monetised.
Using Next Level YouTube Research and Analytics tool, it was found that while Nathaniel Bassey's Main channel is monetised, Hallelujah Challenge-streamed videos are not monetised, meaning he opted not to earn revenue from the program.
This means while Nathaniel Bassey can earn money from other videos such as his aclaimed musical works on the chanel, he chose not to monetise the Hallelujah Challenge videos.
Some social media estimates claim that the singer could earn more than N1 billion from the live streams should he choose to monetise them.
What YouTube says about monetisation of channels by creators
Speaking exclusively to Legit.ng, YouTube, which is owned by Google, said any channel can be monetised provided it follows its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) policy.
In an email, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google's Communications and PR Manager, West Africa, said the decision to monetise a channel or not lies with the creator or the person who owns it.
He said:
"Any channel can monetize if it meets the requirements for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and follows all of our monetization policies. The decision to apply for monetization is up to each creator."
Kola-Ogunlade declined to disclose how much Nathaniel Bassey's Hallelujah Challenge could be worth if it were monetised.
His words:
"We do not disclose private creator information, such as monetization status, business decisions, or earnings."
When asked if YouTube applies the same monetisation standards used in other parts of the world to Nigerian creators, Kola-Ogunlade answered in the affirmative.
He told Legit.ng:
"Our monetization policies are global and apply to all creators in countries where the YouTube partner program is available, including Nigeria. Yes, our policies and monetization features are the same for all creators globally."
Source: Getty Images
Man shares testimony after Hallelujah Challenge
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian man expressed happiness over what God did for him during a recent Hallelujah Challenge programme, which he took part in.
The man said he got a mouthwatering miracle after participating in the online praise event organised by Nathaniel Bassey.
According to the man, a debt of N344,000, which he took from a loan company, was miraculously paid on his behalf.
Source: Legit.ng
