> If they want to serve ads than maybe there is a way they can do it themselves, as opposed to a third party serving them

Indeed there is a way. And if they do it the old-fashioned way, using static ad assets, then the ads aren't typically blocked by ad blockers, anyway (at least not automatically).

Furthermore, these kinds of embedded, static ads lead to more honest, authentic relationships between content providers, advertisers, and viewers.

From what I’ve been told by the web team at the company I work at, images get blocked by ad blockers if they match the industry-standard advert sizes for banners etc. We serve our own ads that we sell directly to businesses related to our content, but it’s often done through the customer’s PR agency, who sort out the ads for various different outlets, and are not interested in making different sizes that wouldn’t be blocked just for us.

>PR agency are not interested in making sizes that wouldn’t be blocked

Sounds like the PR agency is interested in making ads which nobody would see. Great job, PR agency.

unfortunately for content producers, this kind of advertising is typically more work and less profit

Of course there is a way they can do that, because that's how it always used to work. It's just not as cheap or easy.