Instagram is among the world’s top mobile apps both in terms of total active users and content consumption. Now, the app originally known for fancy photo filters has broadened its sights to TV screens.
Last month, Instagram announced its TV app is now available on Samsung Smart TVs in the U.S. after launching on Amazon Fire TV (Dec. 2025) and Google TV (Feb. 2026). It also is testing horizontal videos on its TV app and exploring ways to bring longer-form videos and episodic series to TV screens.
Why Instagram Is Expanding On Televisions
The lines are blurring between social media, streaming, and creator platforms.
YouTube now generates most of its consumption on TVs after originally building its audience on desktop and mobile devices, and videos 10+ minutes account for most of YouTube’s minutes watched. Meanwhile, Netflix has expanded beyond movies and shows by inking deals with top podcasters and YouTube personalities.
Instagram calling TV its “next frontier” is just another sign that media platforms are in a constant land grab for audience attention and will follow the data relative to where people consume content and what content they engage with.
We’re still in the early stages of Instagram’s TV expansion, and Meta hasn’t released data yet on how many people watch videos on its Instagram TV app (or which videos get most viewership on TVs). But this also creates an opportunity for brands that want to invest early to test, learn, iterate, and establish a presence before their competitors catch on.
What Instagram’s TV Ambitions Mean For Your Video Mix
It’s smart for brands to pay attention to Instagram’s TV ambitions because Meta has a track record of rewarding content it wants to see with more reach and impressions. It’s an unwritten incentive system.
When Instagram launched Stories to compete with Snap, or when Instagram launched Reels to compete with TikTok, those post types on average garnered more visibility. It’s the same idea (applied differently) that causes Facebook posts with outbound links to receive fewer impressions. This is Facebook’s method to keep users on its platform longer. Once you know what the platform wants, respond accordingly.
Here are our Top 3 recommendation for tech companies to maximize visibility on Instagram’s TV app:
- Build stories: On mobile, you have less than a second to hook a user. You still need strong hooks to engage TV audiences, but you have more time for story development. Think of TV as a new canvas to tell visceral brand, product, and customer stories that need time to breathe, and don’t limit yourself to single videos. Create series. These long-form videos can also fuel your short-form content with clips, cutdowns, and teasers.
- Raise the production quality: Grainy UGC content and video memes may come across as authentic and relatable on mobile, but people’s tolerance for the same quality videos on larger screens diminishes. Lighting, audio quality, and video resolution matter much more on larger screens.
- Plan for multiple aspect ratios: Mobile audiences tend to scroll. TV audiences are more intentional about what they watch. Your video strategy shouldn’t be identical. In other words, don’t try to retrofit your existing short-form content for 16×9 aspect ratios and expect it to resonate with TV viewers. Instead, test editing your longer-form videos for horizontal aspect ratios. These videos may be letterboxed on mobile, but there’s no simple solution. See note below.
Note: Since Instagram lacks native video rotation, some people use a workaround by manually rotating 16×9 videos 90 degrees into a 9×16 vertical format before uploading. Then they include on-screen vertical text prompts instructing users to tilt phones sideways to view widescreen content full screen. But doing this stops videos from autorotating on TV screens.
If producing new content to support your Instagram TV strategy seems daunting due to resource or capacity constraints, start by repurposing your longer-form content from YouTube instead of planning new productions. You can also take a fresh look at your existing video library to see what can be reworked.
How To Measure Success on Instagram TV
Right now, Instagram’s native insights won’t distinguish between your views on mobile and your views on TVs. Until that functionality exists, here are ways you can determine if your videos are generating views on TVs.
- Long-tail viewership: Most Reels have a short shelf life. Yes, there are outliers and edge cases, but on average, the majority of views for a Reel occur within 72 hours after it’s published. If you notice videos published weeks or months ago start generating significant video views, it could be a sign that these videos are surfacing on TVs.
- Average watch time: Swipe behavior is not prevalent among TV viewers, so average watch time tends to be higher on TVs. If you notice this metric ticking upwards, and the trend coincides with you publishing more long-form, horizontal videos, then this could be a sign of higher retention from TV viewership.
- Widescreen performance: Horizontal videos on mobile often underperform because they feel less “native.” If you suddenly notice a rise in views for these videos, then it’s a strong signal that they’re in the TV rotation.
Other Resources
For more information related to video strategy, trends, etc., see below:
- The case for long-form YouTube content
- YouTube leads in AI brand visibility
- Why tech companies need a video strategy
- 3 myths about using video to grow your tech company
If you’re struggling on where to start relative to your video strategy, schedule a free consultation with us.
