> Most of the channels I watch insert ads directly Those are third party sponsorships done by channel owners, not ads inserted by YT. > That still means the a

> Most of the channels I watch insert ads directly Those are third party sponsorships done by channel owners, not ads inserted by YT. > That still means the ads are paying for YouTube to host the videos Your assertion was related to the channels themselves existing, not YT as a platform. I can agree that the platform probably wouldn't exist without some sort of funding source but that doesn't necessarily need to come from ads.