User blog comment:Rupert Giles/Prototype for a new article layout/@comment-4129195-20141212093302/@comment-452-20141212172612

Because they were not making enough money from only having ads at the top and bottom and sides and background.

Here's how the meeting probably went:
 * Boss: "Team, we're not making enough money from ads."
 * Team: "But we have an ad at the top, an ad in the top right, the must-watch-because-these-are-paid-for-video module in the middle right, more ads at the bottom right, more ads at the bottom, ads in the middle of galley slideshows, and sometimes ads taking up the whole background"
 * Boss: "Well, that's just not good enough - find somewhere to place more ads!"
 * Team: "But the only other place is in the middle of the article!"
 * Boss: "Fantastic idea, you get a raise! But to pay for the raise, you're going to have to find another place to add another ad."