Instagram Features wants your TV time, but it won’t pay creators

Features are built for sideways, widescreen video, the shape of a TV screen, not the tall vertical format of Reels. Selected creators in the test can upload them, and they’ll show up in the main feed and on the Explore page so people stumble onto them while browsing. They’ll be watchable on the mobile app, on desktop and in Instagram’s TV app.

For comparison, Reels top out at 20 minutes. YouTube lets verified accounts upload videos as long as 12 hours.

Early versions are basic. You can change playback speed, but captions and chapters, both standard on YouTube, appear to be missing from what Instagram has shown so far.

The clever part is how Instagram ties long and short video together. A test called Clips as Reels lets creators cut short clips out of a long video and post them as Reels that link straight to the full version. Instagram is also working on:

• Series: a hub on a creator’s profile for episodic Reels, so you can watch parts in order without hunting for them.
• Second-screen controls: using your phone as a remote for the TV app, saving videos to watch later on TV, and pausing on one device to finish on the other.
• Better Live discovery, so live streams are easier to find.
• Background playback, which would let audio keep going after you leave the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri suggested it could come later, but it isn’t available now.

Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product, described the idea simply: someone might see a clip on their phone during the day, then open Instagram on the TV that evening and get asked whether they want to finish the full video.

Instagram has tried this before. It launched IGTV for longer videos about eight years ago, then shut it down. Mosseri has openly said he was against long video for years, because short Reels drive more shares and direct messages. Lyons pushed for the change and finally won him over.

The reason is simple: Instagram doesn’t want to be the place where creators advertise a video that people then go watch on YouTube. Many creators already treat their Instagram accounts as promotion for their YouTube channels. Keeping the whole viewing session inside Instagram, from a quick clip to the 90-minute episode, keeps the audience and the ad opportunities at Meta.

The TV push is part of it. Instagram’s TV app is being updated to put Features front and center, and Instagram says it’s seeing people watch Reels with friends and family on the big screen. Short clips alone won’t fill an evening of TV.

This is where the test could stall. YouTube’s Partner Program gives creators 55% of the ad revenue from their long videos and 45% from Shorts. YouTube says it paid creators, artists and media companies more than $100 billion over four years.

Instagram mostly pays creators indirectly, through brand deals, plus fan subscriptions and a small performance-based bonus program. Mosseri was frank about why that program hasn’t grown: he said Instagram spends far more on it than it makes back. He also said there are no immediate plans for revenue sharing on short or long videos.

A Meta spokesperson said it’s too early to share a long-term plan, but that the company is exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram itself, including performance-based incentives. That’s not a yes, but it’s not a no either. Creators noticed: the top comment under the announcement asked why anyone would post an unpaid long video on Instagram instead of getting paid on YouTube.

If you’re a viewer in the US, you may start seeing long, wide videos in your feed or Explore page, especially from podcasters and vloggers. Tap a Reel with a link to the full version and you’ll stay inside Instagram rather than jumping to YouTube.

If you’re a creator, treat Features as an experiment. Posting a long video can help you reach your Instagram audience, but for now the payoff comes through sponsors, not the platform. A practical approach is to keep your main long video on YouTube, test a shorter cut on Instagram if you get access, and use Clips as Reels to see whether your followers actually click through.