Instagram is making room for longer videos on its platform with a new feature called Features. The company is testing the format with select creators, allowing them to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. The idea is to help creators such as podcasters and comedians share full-length videos while giving viewers an easy way to move from short Reels to longer content. Instagram has now begun testing Features in the US, after an earlier trial in Brazil, and is also exploring ways to bring these videos to TV screens.
Instagram Features: How It Works
Instagram Vice President of Product, Tessa Lyons, outlined the new format in an announcement video with Instagram head Adam Mosseri, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. With Features, creators can use short Reels to draw viewers into their longer videos. Someone who comes across a clip from a podcast, for instance, will be able to watch the full episode without leaving Instagram. The platform will also recommend these longer videos through Explore and other sections of the app.
Among the creators taking part in the initial test are podcast host and Skims co-founder Emma Grede, beauty and fashion creator Monet McMichael, interviewer Preston Rakovsky and football content creator Donald De La Haye. Instagram first tried the format in Brazil before bringing it to select US creators, with plans to eventually expand the test to tens of thousands of participants. Mosseri, meanwhile, admitted that he had previously been against introducing long-form videos on a platform built around shorter content.
The move comes as Instagram looks to catch up with YouTube, where long-form videos are already a major part of the viewing experience, and eligible creators receive 55 percent of advertising revenue. Instagram had made an earlier attempt with IGTV, but eventually phased out the feature as it turned its attention to Reels. Meanwhile, platforms such as Netflix and Disney are also making room for video podcasts and content from individual creators.
Instagram Features Availability and Monetisation
Features is currently available to a select group of creators in the US, though Instagram has yet to announce when it will roll out the format more widely. The company also wants to take long-form videos beyond phones and into living rooms. Its Instagram for TV app is already available on Samsung TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Google TV in the US, with Apple TV support on the way.
Instagram is also experimenting with ways to make watching on TV more interactive, including turning a phone into a remote, letting users see what their friends are watching and saving videos on mobile to watch later on TV.
Instagram is working on brand deals for creators in the test, who can continue to include sponsored content without making their videos exclusive to the platform. It also plans to help creators find advertisers but has yet to explain how Features videos will be monetised.
The company is also testing Series, which groups related Reels into episodes and may come to TV, and changes to Instagram Live that would recommend broadcasts to non-followers through the Reels tab. The Live test is running in Indonesia and Brazil, with a US expansion planned for next year.
