Instagram is ramping up its efforts to attract more viewers on television in a way that may look very, well, old-school.
Starting Monday, the Meta-owned social app will be testing out horizontal video on Instagram for TV, their preexisting feature that allows viewers to watch social videos on the big screen in their living room. And that’s not all. Coming soon, the company will also be experimenting with longer-form storytelling and episodic series with creators, in addition to trying live TV creator experiences on for size.
The changes are timed to the launch of Instagram for TV on Samsung TV devices on Monday, a move that will significantly extend the reach of the feature. Previously, Instagram for TV was only available on Amazon Fire and Google TV products.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Instagram vp of product Tessa Lyons called television “the next frontier” for the app. “Ultimately Instagram is all about connecting people around creativity. We’re all about helping creators find their audiences and we’re constantly evolving how we do that in order to meet [their] needs,” she said. “And I really think that TV is in so many ways the next frontier of that for us.”
Also rolling out on Monday is the ability for users to be able to watch “Stories” (limited-time posts that appear on the top of Instagram feeds) on TV, after the app’s audience asked for it. Also new is a test run for users to cast reels from their phone onto their TV.
