Meta is working hard to capture your undivided attention in the living room; will you give it?
Instagram is testing features to capture more of the entertainment landscape, including the ability to play long-form videos like podcasts and more on the platform.
Starting Monday, Instagram will be launching a test of horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes with select creators in the U.S. The product, called Features, is aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators, with the ability to refer viewers to the full video from the short-form reels on the platform, which are typically around three minutes or less.
“What you’re now going to be able to do is, you see a clip of a podcast that you love, you can just click and continue watching or watch the full video, and you’ll be able to dive in and see the whole thing because creators are going to be able to link these Reels to their overall feature,” said Tessa Lyons, vp product at Instagram.
Instagram has already been testing the feature with creators in Brazil and has a plan to expand to tens of thousands of creators in the U.S. The videos will also be recommended to users on Instagram’s Explore page and in other areas. Early creators involved in the test 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.