Instagram is clearly jealous of YouTube — and introducing a raft of changes
Instagram is introducing new long-form video features, including support for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes, to remain culturally relevant. The platform aims to keep creators and viewers within its ecosystem rather than losing them to competitors like YouTube.
Why it matters
This shift represents a significant strategic pivot for Instagram as it attempts to capture the lucrative long-form video market and improve creator monetization.
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri are betting on long-form. Kevin Mazur/MG26/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Instagram is opening its arms to long-form video again. Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top exec, said longer videos will help the app stay "relevant." Instagram is testing tools for creators making episodic content. But will it pay for them? Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri , has a plan to keep the platform "culturally relevant" — by making it more like YouTube. Meta-owned Instagram unveiled an overhaul of long-form video features on Monday, including a test of horizontal videos called "Features." Taken together, the changes make the app feel a lot more like YouTube. "We want to be the most culturally relevant platform," Mosseri said in an interview with content creators Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry. "To do that, we just need to show up where people are."
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