Side-by-side ads in the subscriptions feed is Google extracting maximum ad inventory from passive browsing behavior. Live content commands higher CPM, so pushing side-by-side formats into the sub feed is purely a yield optimization play dressed up as a better user experience. The subscription feed was the one corner of YouTube where you could actually browse without an ad interrupting the scroll.

YouTube ReVanced

YouTube migrating ads from in-stream to the subscriptions feed is a transparent signal that the algorithm has already squeezed every drop of attention it could from active viewers. Side-by-side placement in a feed users open dozens of times a day is objectively more invasive than preroll because it interrupts browsing rather than content consumption. The move prioritizes ad impressions over creator audience trust, and it shows.

The subscriptions feed used to be the one corner of YouTube where you could actually browse new uploads without an ad interrupting every third video. Google sandbagging that sanctuary to roll out side-by-side ads on live content feels less like a service improvement and more like rent extraction on space they never earned. Hitting "more" live content is a funny way to frame it when the actual question is whether anyone asked for ads to colonize their subscription feed in the first place.