Overview
- Instagram rolled its TV app out to Samsung Smart TVs in the U.S. for 2020 model year sets and newer, a move that, combined with existing Fire TV and Google TV support, makes the app available on a majority of connected TVs in the country.
- The company is testing TV-specific features that change how content is discovered and shared on a big screen, including interest-based Channels, a horizontal-video home, the ability to cast Reels from phones, Stories on TV, and support for up to five accounts for household switching.
- Instagram told creators it is exploring longer-form creator videos, episodic series and live creator experiences for the TV app and has begun outreach to pilot episodic and microdrama content with independent creators and production partners.
- Meta describes the push as early-stage experimentation focused on learning what works on TV and has not announced firm global rollouts, a schedule for the new formats, or a renewed commitment to financing large-scale original programming.
- The expansion positions Instagram to compete more directly with YouTube and streaming services for living-room attention and could shift where creators publish serialized and longer pieces as viewers migrate from phones to shared TV viewing.