Instagram long-form video expansion to compete with YouTube, Digi Mart USA News (Radio France report): Meta’s Instagram app, which has drawn users in with the scrolling of its Reels, is now looking to expand into long-form content and bring it to television screens. According to the publisher’s report, Reels remain capped at 20 minutes, although Instagram still prioritizes videos under three minutes in its recommendations.
The platform is launching a separate feature called Features, available within Instagram, which will allow creators to publish horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. The feature is currently being tested with creators in Brazil and the United States, and Instagram plans to extend it gradually worldwide.
The report notes a reversal of roles: five years ago YouTube launched Shorts to compete with Instagram and TikTok, and now Instagram is moving into long-form video. The publisher argues that Instagram has become a gateway to YouTube, since creators often post short Reels clips that direct viewers to full YouTube videos, which does not benefit Instagram.
To address this, Instagram is developing a television app in the United States for connected TVs, available on Samsung, Google TV and now Apple TV. Users can already watch Reels on these devices, and the company intends to gradually offer the new long-form formats there.
The report cites YouTube’s August share of U.S. television viewing time at nearly 16 percent, more than Netflix.
The report also recalls that Instagram launched IGTV in 2018 as a dedicated long-form app, but users did not adopt it and the company discontinued it four years later. It further notes that YouTube pays eligible creators 55 percent of advertising revenue generated by their long videos, whereas Instagram relies mainly on brand partnerships and has not announced an equivalent system for its new formats.
The publisher concludes that Instagram will need to adapt and build a new creator ecosystem, and that catching up with YouTube will take time.
