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Instagram began testing a feature on Monday that allows select creators in the United States to post horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The product, called Features, is aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators. Creators can link their Reels, which typically run around three minutes or less, to the full video. Viewers who see a podcast clip on Reels can then continue watching or open the entire video, according to Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product.
The videos will also be recommended to users on the Explore page and in other areas of the platform.
Instagram has already tested the feature with creators in Brazil and plans to expand to tens of thousands of creators in the United States. Early participants include podcast host and Skims co-founder Emma Grede and beauty and fashion creator Monet McMichael. Preston Rakovsky, who interviews New Yorkers about love and relationships, and football content creator Donald De La Haye also take part.
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The test comes as Netflix, Disney and other companies add podcasts and creator videos to their platforms to capture more viewing hours and compete with YouTube. One challenge for Instagram is YouTube’s revenue-sharing model, which offers qualified creators 55 percent of ad revenue and helps generate brand deals.
Lyons said Instagram is working on several deals with the early creators. There is no exclusivity requirement for posting the videos on Instagram, unlike Netflix’s podcast deals. Existing ad deals will carry over into the videos, and Instagram will also work with creators who do not have placements to find deals.
Features will be available on mobile, but Instagram aims to carry the viewing experience over to Instagram for TV. The TV app launched last year with Samsung, Fire TV, and Google TV, and it is now expanding to Apple TV in the United States. Lyons said the company expects “a lot of the deep consumption” of long-form horizontal content to happen on big screens over time.
Instagram is also experimenting with Series, which gives episodic Reels a home on a creator’s profile.
The company began reaching out to microdrama studios in Southeast Asia in June and has since contacted individual creators who are trying episodic content. Instagram plans to test Series in more countries in the coming months and bring it to the United States by the end of this year or early next year. The company has also begun testing how it will appear on TV.
Instagram is also testing live video integrated into the Reels tab and live videos shown to audiences who do not follow the creators. The feature is launching in Indonesia and Brazil, with plans to expand to the United States next year.
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