Instagram Tests 90-Minute Horizontal Videos in Major Play for Podcasters and Creators
Instagram on Monday, October 26, began testing a new product called Features with select creators in the U.S., allowing horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes aimed at podcasters, comedians and other longform creators, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Creators can link their shortform Reels to the full video, so viewers who see a clip of a podcast can click to continue watching or view the whole thing.
"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 of product at Instagram. The feature has already been tested with creators in Brazil and is planned to expand to tens of thousands of creators in the U.S., with the videos recommended on the Explore page and elsewhere. Early creators 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.
The test comes as Netflix, Disney and others add podcasts and creator videos to capture more consumer viewing hours and compete with YouTube, whose 55 percent advertising revenue share for qualified creators is a key hurdle for rivals. Lyons said Instagram is working on a few different deals with early creators but there is no exclusivity requirement; existing ad deals will carry over into the videos, and Instagram will also work with creators who lack that infrastructure to find deals.
Features will be available on mobile, with the goal of carrying the experience to Instagram for TV, which launched last year on Samsung, Fire TV and Google TV and is now expanding to Apple TV in the U.S. "We think the best viewing experience for longform horizontal content is on a big, horizontal screen," Lyons said.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Instagram 标志，公共领域，来源 Wikimedia Commons
