Instagram Features, a test of horizontal videos up to 90 minutes, is Instagram’s newest bid to keep long-form fans from leaving for YouTube. Instagram announced the test on Monday, expanding a Brazil trial to select U.S. creators. A Reel can link to the full episode inside the app, but a clear creator payment model has not been announced.
Key Takeaways
- Instagram is testing Features, horizontal videos up to 90 minutes.
- Select U.S. creators can link Reels to the full video.
- Meta has not shared a long-term creator payment model.
- Longer videos are headed to Explore and Instagram for TV.
What Instagram Features Let Creators Upload
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Features is aimed at podcasters, comedians, and other long-form creators, with horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. Short Reels are typically around three minutes or less. Mashable notes that Reels can run up to 20 minutes. Features appears to focus on landscape content and will be available on desktop, the mobile app, and Instagram for TV.
Early U.S. names include podcast host and Skims co-founder Emma Grede, beauty and fashion creator Monet McMichael, Preston Rakovsky, who interviews New Yorkers about love and relationships, and football content creator Donald De La Haye. The Hollywood Reporter says Instagram plans to reach tens of thousands of U.S. creators, while TechCrunch calls the current U.S. step a small test. There is currently no exclusivity around putting the videos on Instagram, unlike Netflix’s deals for podcasts.
How Clips as Reels Keep Viewers in Instagram
The companion tool is Clips as Reels. Creators post a short Reel cut from a Feature, and that Reel links to the full video inside the app. Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter that viewers can click a podcast clip and keep watching the full video inside Instagram.
Mosseri said he had long opposed long-form video on Instagram because Reels drive more shares and DMs. TechCrunch reported that Lyons convinced him to give long-form another shot, and that IGTV, from eight years ago, is now defunct.
He said the team is trying to make short-form and long-form video symbiotic in the mobile app and on the TV app, which will take time to get right. Viewers can save a longer video to send to the Instagram app on their TV, TechCrunch reported. The Hollywood Reporter says the videos will be recommended on Explore and in other areas.
How Instagram Features Compare With YouTube Pay
YouTube’s Partner Program pays creators 55 percent of long-form ad revenue and 45 percent on Shorts, Mashable reported. On the Colin and Samir Show, Mosseri said Instagram creators are paid mainly by brands, sometimes by fans, and that a small performance-based program spends more than it makes back.
“It’s too early to share a long-term monetization model, but we’re exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans, and Instagram, including performance-based incentives,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Over time, we think there will be compounding benefits for creators to tell new stories, reach new audiences, and find new partners, which should lead to many monetization opportunities.”
Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter that Instagram is working on “a few different deals” with early creators. Established creators can bring existing branded placements into the videos, and Instagram wants to help creators who do not yet have that business. Mashable reported the most liked comment on the announcement post, from mental health content creator Divija Bhasin (@awkwardgoat3): “Why would anyone post an unpaid long video on Instagram if we can just post it on YouTube and actually get paid for the effort?”
| Comparison | Instagram Features | YouTube |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Up to 90 minutes | Up to 12 hours for verified accounts |
| Ad share to creators | No long-term model announced | 55 percent long-form; 45 percent Shorts |
| Payout figure in reports | Not announced | More than $100 billion over four years, as YouTube said last year |
Where the Longer Videos Will Play
Lyons told The Hollywood Reporter, “We think the best viewing experience for longform horizontal content is on a big, horizontal screen, and so I think that is where we will expect a lot of the deep consumption to happen over time.” Instagram for TV launched last year on Samsung, Fire TV, and Google TV, and is now expanding to the Instagram Apple TV app in the U.S.
Tubefilter quoted Lyons saying people “love to watch Reels together in their living rooms with their friends,” and that a TV version needs “more than just short-form video.” In the early test, viewers can adjust playback speed, while captions and chapters appear absent, Mashable reported.
What This Means for Viewers and Creators
If you watch, a Reel can open the full episode without leaving the app, including later on a TV. If you create, treat Features as added reach until Meta names a pay model. Described pay so far is brands, fans, and a small program that has not been scaled.
YouTube still publishes an ad split, which you can set beside what is most popular on YouTube.
- If a Reel is only a clip, open the linked Feature instead of searching another app.
- On a television, try Instagram for TV, including Samsung, Fire TV, Google TV, and the U.S. Apple TV expansion.
- If your account is outside the test, do not assume 90-minute uploads are available yet.
- Creators in the test can carry existing branded placements into the video.
