Instagram is officially expanding its popular short-form video feature, Reels, beyond mobile devices, bringing it to television screens. The social media giant announced on Tuesday that it is piloting "IG for TV," a new experience allowing users to watch Reels directly on their televisions, starting with Amazon Fire TV. This strategic move positions Instagram to directly compete with YouTube, which currently dominates the TV content landscape.
By making Reels accessible on TVs, Instagram aims to capture a larger share of the living room audience. The company likely envisions users seamlessly switching to its TV app for casual viewing, much like flipping through channels, offering an alternative when a viewer might not have the attention span for longer content like a movie or an episode on other streaming services.
The "IG for TV" experience is designed to be highly personalized, curating Reels based on a user's existing preferences and favorite creators within the Instagram app. Content will be organized into intuitive channels and categories, such as comedy, music, and lifestyle, simplifying the discovery of diverse video types. Reels will play automatically, eliminating the need for continuous manual scrolling, though users will still have the option to skip to the next video. Viewers can also engage with content by liking, viewing comments, and re-sharing Reels directly from their TV.
Users will have the flexibility to pair "IG for TV" with their existing Instagram mobile app, allowing up to five accounts to be managed from a single home interface. Alternatively, they can opt to create a brand-new account specifically for TV viewing.
It's important to differentiate "IG for TV" from IGTV, Instagram's previous standalone app for long-form content, which was discontinued in 2022. This launch comes as no surprise, as Instagram head Adam Mosseri hinted at the company's plans for a dedicated TV app back in October.
“We’re exploring TV,” Mosseri said at Bloomberg’s Screentime event. “TV is an increasingly important surface, it’s been very important for YouTube […] it’s been very important for TikTok. So we’d like to figure out how to make sure that we show up in a compelling way on all the relevant devices.”
Mosseri went on to note that it was a mistake for the company not to have explored a TV app earlier, expressing a wish that they had done so a few years ago.
