YouTube has begun a global roll-out of “Hype,” a fan-engagement button aimed at helping smaller creators gain visibility on the platform. First previewed at Google’s Made on YouTube event last year, the tool is now available on videos from channels with fewer than 500,000 subscribers across 39 markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and India. The feature lets each viewer hype up to three videos a week, awarding those clips points that determine their position on a new ranked leaderboard housed in the Explore tab. To level the playing field, YouTube said it grants bigger point boosts to channels with lower subscriber counts. Videos that receive support display a “hyped” badge, and users can filter their home feed to view only hyped content. YouTube is also exploring ways to monetise the function. The company said it plans to allow fans to purchase additional hypes, adding a potential revenue stream alongside advertising and subscriptions. Future updates under development include topic-specific leaderboards, social sharing of hype activity and enhanced analytics for creators through YouTube Studio.