Instagram is expanding its ambitions beyond mobile screens, rolling out new television features that position the Meta-owned platform more directly against streaming services for viewer attention in the living room. The move reflects a broader battle among digital platforms to capture longer viewing sessions, deepen creator engagement and open new pathways for advertising and content monetization.
According to a Meta announcement Monday (June 22), Instagram for TV is now available on Samsung Smart TVs in the U.S., extending the app’s reach beyond its existing availability on Amazon Fire TV and Google TV devices. Meta said the expansion means Instagram can now be accessed across most connected TV platforms in the U.S.
The company is also testing several new features for the TV-focused offering. These include interest-based content channels, allowing users to browse videos by topics such as sports, comedy or favorite creators; the ability to cast Reels from a smartphone to a television; and support for viewing Instagram Stories on larger screens. Meta is additionally testing a dedicated section for horizontal video, a format traditionally better suited to television viewing.
The company said it is exploring a range of longer-form content experiences tailored for TV audiences still in development and are expected to roll out in the future. Those include extended creator videos, episodic programming and live broadcasts designed for shared viewing.
The initiative signals a continued evolution of Instagram from a photo-sharing app into a broader video entertainment platform. As television viewing shifts to connected devices, social media companies are seeking a larger role in how consumers discover and consume video content. By introducing longer-form and serialized programming options, Instagram is moving closer to territory traditionally occupied by streaming platforms while leveraging its existing creator ecosystem and recommendation capabilities.
The expansion comes as streaming and digital entertainment remain resilient categories even amid consumer spending pressure. In fact, nearly 3 in 4 consumers who are making cutbacks due to financial pressures are nonetheless maintaining their spending on entertainment services such as streaming subscriptions.
Broadly, Instagram has been steadily increasing its emphasis on video. As of last year, users were spending roughly half of their time on the platform watching video content as the company has focused on intensifying its competition with TikTok and expanded its Reels strategy.
Also last year, for the first time, the number of TV viewers accessing content via streaming services surpassed the number watching via broadcast and cable.
