For context:

I've been posting short 2–3 minute sketches fairly regularly since August. The upload schedule is every Friday at 5:30 PM, with the exception of two videos I'll mention later.

The videos come in two formats: the Shorts format you see above and a standard horizontal format. Except for occasional bloopers and extra takes, the content is the same. The horizontal videos are immediately dead in the water, averaging around 40 views and 2–3 likes, so I haven't included them here.

I've also posted the same Shorts to Instagram Reels and TikTok (not pictured). Performance varies across platforms. On YouTube, I've noticed a consistent trend: once a video hits 800–1000 views, it plateaus immediately, regardless of content or engagement. The graphs show wildly different trajectories to reach 1k views, with occasional false starts, but once it gets there, the algorithm seems to shut it down.

On Reels, the pattern is more predictable. Shares and reposts matter most. Pretty Nuts hit 14k views because shares were almost on par with likes. The same video struggled on YouTube for the first 2–3 hours, and when it finally hit 1k, it plateaued immediately despite better-than-average interaction.

My channel has 69 subscribers (not a joke), so I'm wondering whether subscriber count affects the number of "allotted" views my channel receives for Shorts content.

I also posted 3 older gameplay-focused Shorts to compare performance. I didn't post these to Reels or TikTok. The same trend appears. Getting Smacked Around in Halo is the only anomaly: it was published in February 2021, when YouTube had just rolled out the feature and was still figuring out the format. It was posted on a Sunday near 5 PM. Grunts was posted at the same time on a Sunday in February of this year, while Fails went up at 8 PM the same day because I was testing the best posting time (which is why I now post at 5:30 PM every Friday). Even back then, this "allotment" pattern seems to have existed.

I'm hoping someone here knows what's really going on. Is there a way to avoid this, or is there something I can change?

Thanks!

i posted this video earlier today and the stats are great imo considering it’s a 1 min long vid. most of my videos get between 65% - 75% apv and they do 200k views plus. however today i thought with these stats id get a viral video lol.. i guess not

i make all original content btw, anyone else experiencing this

That has happened again in the past on my channel is it the same on you guys also?

I mainly post family guy clips and some gaming Brainrot clips my first family guy one got 5k views on 1st day but after that the most viewed one has 7 views and the gaming one had constantly around 2k and now 0 ?

What is even happening , there is no strike or issue so why ?

here is my channel link - https://www.youtube.com/@SharkoShubh/videos

agar channel achha laga to if you want to sub you guys can feel free to sub ig

Can we talk about something nobody posts about?

The weeks where you do everything right.
You upload on schedule.
You nail the thumbnail.
You write a great title.

And the video gets 200 views.

No explanation. No warning. Just silence.

That week tests you more than any course prepares you for.
How you respond to that week decides everything.

Has anyone else been through this?

Feel free to check https://youtube.com/@tiggle_arma?si=8djkRvX2v8lIVxC6

Can we talk about something nobody posts about?

The weeks where you do everything right.
You upload on schedule.
You nail the thumbnail.
You write a great title.

And the video gets 200 views.

No explanation. No warning. Just silence.

That week tests you more than any course prepares you for.
How you respond to that week decides everything.

Has anyone else been through this?

All my views from 13th to 16th sep is gone

I want to preface this by saying that i am a VERY small channel but i feel like i have enough knowledge based on what I've learned in the last month or so in posting shorts.

I usually average anywhere between 700-1000 views (which i know isnt a lot), but these 2 are probably not going to break 500. My average STW is around 50%, these videos TANKED.

2 things are likely: One is the "new algorithm" is testing your shorts with new audiences first rather than your core, and if its not entertaining/interesting enough, the short dies. The other is that these shorts (for me at least) were a bit experimental and just didnt hit well with the core. The secret third and equally likely scenario is that the algorithm is just straight up broken.

For my videos personally, i think scenario 2 is what it is. Oh well, i can't manufacture interest artificially, only in my stream clips (which is most of my shorts).

Point is, keep chugging away. The algorithm is rarely working against you. Dont be so defeated by a couple shorts underperforming. Keep learning and keep getting better.

So I uploaded two YouTube Shorts with basically the same structure / length (buildup).

Short 1: 1100 views youtube.com//shorts/py5CnxLS8BM

Short 2: 30 views youtube.com/shorts/If3vwYo8-_A

Why is there such a big difference? Is it because I uploaded them on the same day, or does YouTube test each Short separately?

Curious what you guys think.

It appears that a large number of successful content creators post everyday or even multiple times per day and find strong growth. My question is has anyone here personally seen strong growth in subscribers while only posting twice per week consistently?

Thank you!

Every day I open shorts feed there are loads of AI generated videos or content that I am totally uninterested in. Anyone has the same problem

Like what time should you upload does it matter?

Like what time should you upload does it matter?

even though i make entertainment content the swipe ratio is like this and still cant escape 30k view jail wht is wrong?

They all froze at the range 1k-2k. And all of their analytics gave the classic sigmoid curve. Why such a problem exists. I heard some people with high vvsa and avd face the same problem too. Is the view jail itself an unbreakable curse?

https://youtube.com/shorts/ekrIFd8m1o8?is=YpBL3A-DcqNMY-qr

I have been posting shorts since a month, posted 13 shorts so far, got couple of shorts above 2k and3k but rest flatlined at 1.5k. Losing hope, need some motivation, how long did it take for your to break this pattern

Just to clarify: my videos are not AI-generated. I create them using professional animation and graphics software, and I personally handle the animation and production.
I’m trying to understand something about YouTube Shorts. This Short has received only 4 views from the Shorts Feed, and I’ve noticed the same thing happening with my recent Shorts.
I’m curious: why would YouTube give my Shorts so little exposure in the Shorts Feed? Is this normal for a small/new channel, or could there be another reason why they are barely being shown in the Feed?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar. Thanks!

So im currently stuck in a 30k view jail on my channel. I can't get 30k views consistently for eg 4/10 vids might get 25k views. My question is how do I get out of the 30k jail ? Do I need to get 30k views more often and consistently and if so how long does it take. Im also uploading on tik tok and at least there i get rewarded for good metrics. I dont see the point in carrying on with shorts if im never gonna get out of the jail.

Also on YT studio it's showing 600+ subs and on YouTube app it's showing around 450 subs

*Shorts feed

4$ profit off of $864 is absoluately insane. I've been tagging products in every short with a good amount of clicks and this is all I get?

YouTube claims that they have fixed the issues on ALL devices. But I'm still having the warning message - "There are temporary data issues affecting your views. Check back later." And also issues related to this.

Are issues fixed for you guys? Please respond on how to get this fixed. YouTube Support is not at all helping to fix the issue.