I hadn't really thought about it from that perspective, but yes, it probably does. If you subscribe to a small channel like mine, because, say you knew someone who could benefit from it, YouTube could substitute their judgment for yours and show larger, more popular channels from my niche. You might never see an upload from me recommended on your homepage, never have your memory jogged about why you had subscribed in the first place, and I'd lose a potential fan. (Half the videos I watched on YouTube in the past, used to be on recommendation from someone who thought I'd find them useful/interesting!). So yes, this could definitely hurt small YouTubers.