As noted, this is a terrible idea. The left sidebar is not what this site needs, it is a step back, we may as well just start making geocities websites and pretend like its the early 2000's again if this is the direction that design is going.
PLEASE do not use this approach. It is dangerous to damage the flagship product in order to test the channels feature, and this would be damaging. It would literally be removing a large section of the most prominent part of the viewing screen. Put simply, this change will make the site harder to use.