Instagram wants to monopolize your attention

Instagram launched this week A series of new features For its smart TV app which is all designed to get people spending more time on the platform through the biggest screens in their homes. In addition to the vertical RollersAnd Instagram for TV — currently available for Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung Smart TV — users can now watch Disappearance stories And horizontal videos with aspect ratios similar to what you typically see on YouTube. And soon, Instagram will make a big push for long-form and episodic content and TV-focused “live creator experiences.”

This foray into TV looks very different from the Meta-owned company’s previous attempts to grab more of our attention by adding functionality borrowed from competitors such as Tik Tok, Snapchatand Periscope (RIP.) It’s all based on the idea that people want to sit on their couches watching Instagram content that they would normally consume on their phones.

The fact that we take our phones with us everywhere means that Instagram is always just a few clicks away. The inherent portability of phone-based Instagram is arguably the biggest reason why The platform has managed to reach 3 billion monthly users. Scrolling through Instagram’s discover page is something you can do while you’re bored and already scrolling through your phone. It’s easy to launch the app and send videos to friends while you’re commuting, waiting for the elevator, or using the bathroom. But Instagram’s recent pivot is geared toward a more consistent experience meant to be shared with people in the same room. This is a big bet.

says Instagram This community feedback is what inspired her to roll out the new features for the TV app. Some of them — like the ability to cast Reels from your phone to your TV — make a certain amount of sense. If someone wants to share a funny video with a group, it will be easier to show it on a larger screen rather than with everyone gathered around the phone. What seems more suspicious are Instagram’s new dedicated channels for TV which are supposed to “make it easier to find videos that everyone in the room can enjoy together” even though the feeds are tailored to suit individual users’ interests.

It’s also hard to imagine people wanting to watch a series of stories — essentially vertically oriented multimedia slideshows — on their TVs. Stories look awkward on widescreen displays, and interacting with them using the remote is much less intuitive than swiping through them on a phone’s touchscreen. This is probably why Instagram is also testing a dedicated section for widescreen content. The company’s plan to develop long-form content and episodic series with creators is a sign that Instagram knows that its TV app can’t just be a place where people browse videos that last only a few seconds.

Instagram is clearly trying to grab some attention away from YouTube and new startups like Many small drama platforms Which is starting to appear.

Small dramas are already a thriving business. Sector revenues It is expected to reach $14 billion By the end of the year. On mobile, Instagram is very well positioned to get into the little drama game due to the huge user base built into the app. Most microdrama apps require you to register and then pay per episode or subscribe to monthly or annual plans to access their content. If Instagram can convince creators to start producing more of these types of videos themselves, the company could turn itself into a new hub for micro-drama.

Instagram may be leading the way in vertical content right now, but with the understanding that long-form and horizontal videos will have to become central to the TV app to succeed. Talk to Hollywood ReporterInstagram’s vice president of product, Tessa Lyons, said the company sees short-form content as a “very accessible way” for creators to “get into longer, more episodic storytelling.” Lyons also explained that part of what prompted Instagram for TV’s new focus on long-form videos was seeing creators using Instagram to promote their projects that live on other platforms.

But even if more Instagram creators adopt long, horizontal videos, the TV app will have a hard time becoming something similar to YouTube. Like Instagram, YouTube has Copying some of the features of its competitorsbut YouTube has always been a destination for a variety of content that can be viewed on a larger screen. You might start out watching a YouTuber’s skit or video essay, but it’s easy to end up making a playlist of music videos or… Feature studio film. The breadth of YouTube’s content library is why it continues to exist Most watched player in the United StatesAnd while there’s a lot to see on Instagram, the two platforms aren’t exactly comparable in terms of what they offer to viewers.

There’s a level of commitment that comes with watching something on TV that Instagram content didn’t have to worry about before. You don’t have to close the door completely to enjoy a short clip on your phone. But the video being shown on your TV should be something that can keep your attention for more than a few minutes.

This TV pivot might work if Instagram can actually convince creators to start producing polished series instead of flooding the space with more original mobile content. But without a sharp influx of compelling projects made for TV viewing, this could end up being another example of Instagram losing the plot while chasing its competitors.