I piggyback on a friend's account, for a small fee, so likewise.
I also run pi-hole at home, because while I understand the need for ads, I'm done with 23 ads, 15 flyouts, 1 video that will play in the corner until the end of time even though you obviously scrolled past it with zero intention of viewing it, 4 animated gifs, a pop-up chatbot window, etc. etc. etc.
We’re going to get to the section of this video about ad-free YouTube, but first, a message from our sponsor, VPNOfTheMonth! <insert some scare mongering directly into the video stream that premium doesn’t remove>
You can skip past those pretty easily. I let them play for creators I actually like, who also tend to pick less scummy sponsored ads. Some of them even make the sponsored content really funny or personal to them.
You'll find the same quality spectrum. At least I know that the creator is seeing more of the ad dollars.
that is a rather cynical and unconstructive perspective
1. sponsored ads are only in a minority of videos, so largely the platform is actually ad-free. I'm paying to not have YT ads, I did not expect my subscription to eliminate sponsored ads. Where is the lie?
2. paid YT is categorically a better experience and worth every penny, even with the occasional sponsored ad, which again, can be skipped
3. YMMV, it really depends on the content you chose to consume. I stay away from the most viewed creators, it's typically low quality
4. Direct payments for a product is a much healthier model than the ad supported model, imho.
I do really enjoy my ad free YouTube, 8 years and counting, the $20 / month for 5 accounts is very much worth it