I'd never heard of Vanced before today. What features did they offer that YT Premium doesn't?
Also sponsorblock which is a must for some people.
And picture-in-picture mode was great. I could watch the news while seeing how close an uber was to me without having to switch apps.
Whether the ads profit to Google or creators is irrelevant.
Really I think the sponsors know this, and put their money on targetting the market of people who are, for example, watching while eating.
The article mentions custom swipe controls, swipe controls, and "codec features" which I'm not familiar with.