Meta leans into traditional TV formats with expanded Instagram for TV feature

Instagram for TV launched in December

Social media platform Instagram is to explore episodic series and longer-form creator content as it expands its Instagram for TV feature.

The move marks a strategic pivot for the Meta-owned company, which is best known as an app for sharing photos and scrolling through bite-sized Reels content.

Launched last December, Instagram for TV is the platform’s attempt to take the viewer experience from mobile phones to the living room TV.

It follows YouTube’s emergence as one of the world’s biggest entertainment providers. Earlier this month, data company Digital i claimed YouTube, which is having an increasing presence on TV sets, has overtaken Netflix in average daily viewing minutes per user.

Now Instagram is updating and improving its own TV service, with Instagram for TV made available on Samsung smart TVs in the US, combined with Amazon Fire TV and Google TV.

It will provide channels organised around each user’s own interests and enable viewers to cast reels from their phones directly to TV screens.

However, the service also leans into new features inspired more by the traditional legacy TV space. Instagram has listened to feedback from users and is testing a dedicated home for horizontal videos, “making it easier to enjoy content designed for the TV screen.”

Instagram will also lean into episodic series and longer-form videos that enable creators to “tell deeper stories,” while new feature Live on TV creates opportunities for audiences to “watch and participate together in real time.”

Announcing the expansion of Instagram on TV, Meta said: “Watching on TV is different from watching on a phone. As we continue to learn from our community, we’re exploring more formats built for the living room and aim to start rolling them out soon.

“As we explore longerform, episodic and live formats, we’re working closely with creators to understand what works best on TV and how these experiences can complement the ways people already use Instagram.

“Instagram for TV has evolved significantly since we first began testing, but we’re still in the early stages of understanding what social video looks like on TV. We’ll continue learning from our community and building new ways for people to connect around the content they love.”