I've noticed a big increase in full length movies on YouTube and most of them are ad free as they are predominantly vintage or out of copyright and so not attractive to advertisers who assume that the target audience is not watching these old classics.
I've been watching early Marlon Brando movies and ww2 movies and not a single ad!
YouTube wants to dominate the online world and destroy competition. Shorts as well as longform video.
Cable cutting 2 is well underway. My only concern is the danger of monopoly creeping in.