Instagram comes to the big screen: a new Reels app for smart TVs

The new application brings a different viewing experience than the one on the mobile phone. Instead of endless scrolling, the videos will be shown in dedicated channels according to areas of interest, including music, sports, travel, trends and notable moments on the web. The goal, according to Instagram, is to enable more convenient viewing of the content of friends, well-known creators and content that leads the conversation, in a social atmosphere that is suitable for viewing together in the living room.

Meta emphasizes that the Reels – which will be shown on TV – will remain in the familiar vertical format, and will not be adapted to a horizontal screen. The length of the videos will continue to be short, up to three minutes, in accordance with Instagram’s strategy in recent years, which focused on promoting short videos as a response to the rise of TikTok. In the past, the company tried to promote longer content through the IGTV app but this was shut down in 2022.

In the coming months, Instagram is expected to test additional capabilities, including using the mobile phone as a remote control, new ways to browse between channels, shared feeds for viewing with friends, and tools that will gather content from favorite creators in one place. The application will allow you to add up to five different accounts for customized viewing for all members of the household, and even create a dedicated account for watching TV only.

The company states that the contents of the television application will meet the standards suitable for a wide audience, so that content that includes drugs, alcohol or sexuality will not be offered by default to young viewers. The whole move emphasizes Instagram’s ambition to become a major video platform beyond the smartphone, and to compete directly with YouTube and Tiktok in the home living room as well.