HIGHLIGHTS
- Instagram's IGTV app debuted in 2018.
- The app was created to accommodate longer vertical videos.
- TikTok, Instagram's competitor, has introduced support for lengthier videos.
Instagram announced the move in a blog post, explaining that it is closing down the IGTV app in order to make video content "as simple to discover and produce as possible." Instagram launched a new app for IGTV in 2018 with the intention of hosting lengthier vertical-format videos. Instagram Video integrated Feed Video and IGTV last year, and the company says it will continue to invest in Reels.
Instagram recently announced the discontinuation of in-stream video advertisements (previously known as IGTV ads) as part of the company's focus on Reels. According to the firm, content providers who were actively monetising with in-stream video advertising would be paid a temporary monthly payment based on their past profits. Instagram also disclosed that it is working on a new ad experience for monetising Reels content, which will go into testing later this year.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri unveiled the service's plan for 2022 in December, which includes an emphasis on video on Instagram. After losing a third of its market value following a bad earnings report, Meta debuted Reels on the company's Facebook app in over 150 countries last month. Meanwhile, Instagram competitor TikTok began enabling users to submit videos as long as 10 minutes on Monday in an attempt to compete with rival YouTube, which is focused efforts on short form material via its "Shorts" feature.
