Instagram is testing a new long-form format called Features, allowing selected creators to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. The test is focused on creators in the United States, with some in Brazil also taking part. The move marks a reversal for Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who long resisted longer videos because he feared they would weaken friend-to-friend interactions. He now says short and long-form video can work together, with Reels pulling in new viewers and full episodes keeping them engaged.

Instagram’s vice-president of product, Tessa Lyons, said creators already use Reels clips to drive audiences to longer content. The company wants to keep that journey inside its own ecosystem, and is also extending it to connected television, where a viewer could discover a podcast on mobile and finish it on the big screen. Instagram is also testing Series, a format for episodic content and microdramas, with creators in India, Mexico and the US.

The biggest question is money. Unlike YouTube, Instagram has not announced an ad revenue-sharing programme for Features, though it is exploring commercial arrangements and allowing existing branded deals to carry over. Creators also doubt whether the algorithm will give longer videos fair reach, especially given the discontinuation of IGTV in 2022.

Mosseri admits the strategy will take time to get right. For Instagram to succeed, it must prove that long videos can be discovered, that creators can recover their costs, and that audiences will stay for sustained viewing.