How to premiere a video on YouTube

A Premiere turns an upload into a scheduled event. Viewers can watch on a computer, phone, tablet or mobile web, and the video stays on your channel afterwards like any other upload.

Sources: YouTube Help: Premiere a new video, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Customize your Premiere, checked 15 October 2026

You set a Premiere during upload. On a phone, upload in the YouTube app and choose Set as Premiere on the Set visibility page.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Click Create, then Upload videos.
3. Select the video and add its details.
4. At Visibility, choose Schedule, enter a date and time and tick Set as Premiere. For one that starts as soon as processing finishes, choose Save or publish, then Public, then Set as instant Premiere.
5. Click Set up Premiere to choose a countdown theme and length.
6. Click Done or Schedule.

Sources: YouTube Help: Premiere a new video, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Customize your Premiere, checked 15 October 2026

A trailer plays on the watch page before the Premiere starts. It's available to channels with more than 1,000 subscribers and no Community Guidelines strikes. The trailer must be 15 seconds to 3 minutes long and can't be a video that has already premiered; YouTube recommends matching the aspect ratio and resolution of the main video.

1. Upload the trailer as a regular video.
2. Upload the video you want to premiere in YouTube Studio.
3. At Visibility, schedule it as a Premiere.
4. Click Set up Premiere.
5. Under Add a trailer, click Add and select your trailer.

Source: YouTube Help: Customize your Premiere, checked 15 October 2026

The watch page exists from the moment you schedule, so you have the whole run-up to fill it. YouTube suggests:

1. Share the watch page link on your other social networks.
2. Set the Premiere as your channel trailer by changing your channel layout.
3. If you're live streaming beforehand, use Live Redirect to send viewers from the stream to the Premiere.
4. Check Premiere performance afterwards in YouTube Analytics.

Source: YouTube Help: Premiere a new video, checked 15 October 2026

Check these first:

• It's a Short: Shorts aren't supported for Premieres.
• It's 360-degree or VR180, or the output is above 1080p: neither is supported.
• The channel has a Community Guidelines strike: the Premiere won't publish during the penalty period and has to be rescheduled after it ends.
• No Add a trailer option: trailers need more than 1,000 subscribers and no Community Guidelines strikes.
• Instant Premiere hasn't started: it begins only after processing finishes.

Sources: YouTube Help: Premiere a new video, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Customize your Premiere, checked 15 October 2026

A Premiere makes one upload an event; the weeks either side still need regular videos. Zolyp, which publishes this guide, publishes to YouTube as one of 9 platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads). It creates video uploads and Shorts with titles and descriptions written for search, can set a custom thumbnail on a standard video, and schedules them with the posts on your other networks. You approve the week before anything goes live.