Instagram Challenges YouTube's Dominance with 90-Minute 'Features' Video Rollout

Instagram is fundamentally shifting its strategic focus, moving beyond its identity as a short-form video platform to directly challenge YouTube’s dominance in long-form content. In a significant announcement, the Meta-owned social network revealed it is testing a new upload type called "Features," which allows creators to publish videos up to 90 minutes in length. This marks a notable departure from the industry-wide trend over the past decade, where platforms aggressively prioritized vertical, short-form clips. By embracing longer content, Instagram aims to capture the lucrative revenue streams that have traditionally been the exclusive domain of YouTube. The move addresses a critical gap in Instagram's creator economy. While the platform offers monetization tools, it has historically struggled to pay creators on a per-view basis, relying instead on brand deals and fan subscriptions. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, acknowledged that the current performance-based program is not yet profitable at scale, stating that the platform spends more than it recovers. In contrast, YouTube’s Partner Program offers a straightforward 55% ad revenue share, having paid over $100 billion to creators and media companies in the last four years. Instagram’s new long-form initiative seeks to replicate this sustainable model by providing more inventory for advertising. To facilitate this transition, Instagram is introducing a feature called "Clips as Reels," which allows creators to generate short Reels from their long-form videos. These Reels serve as entry points, linking viewers directly to the full 90-minute video. This symbiotic approach is designed to keep users engaged within the Instagram ecosystem rather than driving them to external platforms. Additionally, the platform is enhancing discovery features for Live video and developing a hub for episodic Reels, similar to TikTok’s playlist functionality, to better organize serialized content. The rollout is currently in a testing phase in Brazil, with plans to expand to a small test group in the United States. Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s VP of Product, emphasized that while Reels will remain a core component of the app, the new features allow users to go deeper with their favorite creators. Mosseri, who previously opposed long-form video on the platform, noted that Lyons convinced him to revisit the strategy. The long-term goal is to create a multi-format ecosystem where short and long-form content support each other, ultimately offering creators more diverse monetization opportunities and ensuring Instagram remains a competitive force in the creator economy.