Originally posted by interested_observer I thought that you had to watch an ad first in order for the channel to make any ad income?
I am not sure exactly how YouTube content developers get income from Google ads. But it's ad clicks, affiliate deals sometimes, and video ad views that basically feed the beast.
BTW, here's another channel similar to 'Hydraulic Press' and 'Will it Blend': the 'What's Inside' YouTube channel, which has 3.2 million [!] subscribers. Which generates enough revenue to fund the channel owners various trips around the world etc.