Instagram is putting Reels on your TV. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his Instagram Meta channel on Tuesday. The company is currently testing the expansion, and it is available today on Amazon Fire TV, with “more soon.”
The move does not come as a surprise since the platform transitioned from a photo-sharing app to a video platform. In October, Instagram head Adam Mosseri hinted that the company was working on a TV expansion.
“We’re exploring TV,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said at Bloomberg’s Screentime event. “TV is an increasingly important surface, it’s been very important for YouTube […] it’s been very important for TikTok. So we’d like to figure out how to make sure that we show up in a compelling way on all the relevant devices.”
Having a dedicated IG TV app for Reels makes a lot of sense for Instagram, and it brings the platform head-to-head with YouTube, which has had a TV app for years. While it might not be an interesting idea for everyone, some users prefer to scroll for hours, endlessly through Reels on their phone. Instagram is hoping the idea of a Reels TV app will be appealing to such users.
“Our mission is to get you to the world’s best content fast, and we’re thrilled to welcome Instagram to Fire TV,” Fire TV vice president, Aidan Marcuss, said in a statement. “We’re committed to keep pushing the boundaries of entertainment on customers’ biggest screens — the Instagram team has built an awesome experience, and we’re excited to be the first place to offer it. We can’t wait to see what customers think.”
Like on the mobile Instagram app, content shown on IG for TV will be personalised to each user based on their viewing activity on the mobile app. Reels on the TV app will be organised by topics, categories, and channels so users can easily find the type of content they want. Reels will play automatically, and users will be able to like, share, and view comments.
Users can create a dedicated account for the IG TV app only, or choose to pair their already existing Instagram account with the TV app.
