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Instagram Tests 90-Minute 'Features' Videos in YouTube Challenge

Instagram is testing Features, a horizontal long-form video format of up to 90 minutes, alongside Clips as Reels in Brazil and a small U.S. test as it pushes into YouTube territory and TV viewing.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-27 07:16

Alongside Features, Instagram is testing “Clips as Reels,” which lets creators cut long-form videos into Reels; those Reels link viewers to the longer video. Viewers can also save a longer video to send to the Instagram app on TV. Instagram is also working on better discovery for Live video and a hub on creators’ profiles for episodic Reels, a series of connected Reels similar to TikTok’s playlist feature, TechCrunch reported.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a video with VP of Product Tessa Lyons that he had opposed long-form video on Instagram “for a long time.” He said one concern was keeping Instagram not just about entertainment but about connecting with friends, because watching long-form video can involve “a lot of Reels, photos, and carousels that you might not have sent to a friend,” meaning fewer likes and shares. Lyons advocated the change, and Mosseri said the team is trying to make short-form and long-form video “symbiotic,” citing podcasts or comedy specials that can exist as long videos and as shorter clips.

“Reels is still going to be a core part of Instagram. But when you want to go deeper with the creators you love and the content that they’re creating, you should be able to do that on Instagram,” Lyons said in the video. Mosseri said Instagram will support the formats in both the mobile app and the TV app, though he said it will “take some time to get right.”

The move follows Instagram’s launch of a TV app late last year. The Verge reported that the app began as a Reels-focused experience and a pilot for Amazon Fire TV devices in the US, then expanded to Google TVs, Samsung TVs and Apple TV; Instagram added features such as the ability to watch Stories earlier this year.

Instagram tried long-form video eight years ago with IGTV, which is now defunct. TechCrunch reported that Instagram does not typically pay creators on a per-view basis; creators mainly earn from brands, and some from fans, while a small performance-based program spends more than it recovers. YouTube places ads on videos and pays creators in its Partner Program 55% of the ad revenue it earns from their videos; YouTube said last year it had paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the previous four years.

A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch: “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.” The spokesperson added that Meta expects “compounding benefits for creators to tell new stories, reach new audiences, and find new partners.”