Instagram is exploring new features to expand its role in digital entertainment, including support for long-form videos such as podcasts.

On Monday, Instagram announced that it is testing out video lengths of up to 90 minutes with select creators in the US.

The product, called Features, is aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators, with the ability to refer viewers to the full video from the short-form reels on the platform, which are typically around three minutes or less, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

“What you’re now going to be able to do is, you see a clip of a podcast that you love, you can just click and continue watching or watch the full video, and you’ll be able to dive in and see the whole thing because creators are going to be able to link these Reels to their overall feature,” said Tessa Lyons, VP product at Instagram.

Instagram has already been testing the feature with creators in Brazil and has a plan to expand to tens of thousands of creators in the U.S. The videos will also be recommended to users on Instagram’s Explore page and in other areas.

Early creators involved in the test include podcast host and Skims co-founder Emma Grede; beauty and fashion creator Monet McMichael; Preston Rakovsky, who interviews New Yorkers about love and relationships; and football content creator Donald De La Haye.

Features will be available on mobile, but the goal is to carry the viewing experience over to Instagram for TV, which launched last year with Samsung, Fire TV and Google TV and is now expanding to Apple TV in the U.S. as part of Instagram’s move into more of the entertainment landscape. 

Source: ANI

-Agencies