Instagram has launched a test of the Features format, which lets select creators publish horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long. The platform announced this on Monday, October 26. The test first ran in Brazil and is now expanding to a small group of creators in the US.
Videos appear in the main feed and on the Explore tab. The company is also rebuilding its TV app so that Features get priority on Samsung, Fire TV and Google TV. Apple TV support is promised later.
The second new feature, Clips as Reels, attaches up to eight short Reels to a long video. In the announcement, Adam Mosseri admitted that for a long time he had been against long-form video on Instagram.
Payments are so far selective. Some individual creators were offered $50,000, and some received six-figure contracts, in certain cases up to $500,000. Meta has only confirmed that it funds Features content directly with individual creators.
Instagram has no ad revenue-sharing program for long-form video. A platform representative said it is too early to share the monetization model for the long format. Mosseri wrote on Threads that Features has not fully launched yet and access is opening gradually. He also said the company is studying ways to help long-form creators earn money.
For comparison, according to VidIQ, YouTube pays between $1 and $10 per 1,000 views of long videos, while Instagram earns almost nothing from views alone without a brand deal.
The platform has tried long video before. IGTV, which allowed videos up to 60 minutes, launched in 2018 and was shut down in 2022.
The next step is expanding the test. While payments remain one-off contracts with individual creators rather than a common program, it is hard for content makers to rely on them.
