• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

Designed to help boost engagement around emerging creators, YouTube is rolling out its “Hype” feature in 39 countries across the globe, including the U.S., U.K., Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India.

Originally announced last September, YouTube’s Hype program is intended to help lesser-known channels grow by connecting them with new audiences. 

The feature, which appears alongside the “Like” button below a video, invites YouTube users to “hype” up to three videos per week for a creator with under 500,000 subscribers. 

“When a video is hyped, it receives points, giving it a chance to end up on a new ranked leaderboard that you can find in the Explore menu,” YouTube says, adding that it wants to “level the playing field” by highlighting smaller creators on the platform. 

“The fewer the subscribers, the bigger the bonus,” the company adds. 

In addition to the dedicated hype button, a “hyped” badge will appear on relevant videos, while a new “hyped” category can be used to filter the Home feed. Users will also be notified when a video they have hyped is nearing the leaderboard. 

“The most dedicated fans can now earn a new hype star badge each month to share with others,” the Google-owned company says. 

Creators will be able to check the YouTube Studio mobile app to see how many hypes and hype points each of their videos has received. 

YouTube is currently testing paid hypes in Brazil and Turkey, which allows fans to purchase additional hype credits.

The added feature could further expand the company’s new revenue stream.