Instagram Tests 90-Minute Videos to Challenge YouTube

Instagram has begun testing a Features option that lets creators post videos up to 90 minutes.

The move signals a strategic shift from short-form video and targets YouTube's long-form ad model.

Short vertical videos dominated the 2020s, but creators of those formats typically do not receive per‑view payments from platforms. Instagram offers paid subscriptions and other tools, but it does not pay creators per view.

Adam Mosseri, Instagram's chief, told the Colin and Samir show, "Monetization can come from the platform, fans, or sponsors. Right now Instagram's revenue model is mainly based on brand partnerships and a small portion comes from fans. We do have a performance‑based program, but our costs in it have been far higher than the revenues, and building it out would just be burning money."

YouTube's monetization structure is clearer: mid‑roll and other ads run in videos and creators in the Partner Program receive 55 percent of ad revenue. YouTube says it has paid creators, artists, and media more than $100 billion in the past four years.

Instagram and TikTok have so far failed to replicate YouTube's model for short videos because short formats offer less ad space and many creators treat short platforms as funnels to their YouTube channels.

Meta can now place advertising inside these longer, up to 90‑minute videos. A Meta spokesperson said it is too early to announce a final framework, and the company is exploring monetization options from sponsors, fans, and performance incentives to enable more durable economic partnerships with creators.

This is not Instagram's first long‑form effort. The company launched IGTV about eight years ago and later discontinued it.

Mosseri previously resisted long videos after data showed Reels generated higher engagement, shares, and direct messages. Tessa Lyons, Instagram's vice president of product, persuaded executives to reenter long‑form video. Lyons says Reels will remain central but that audiences should be able to access deeper content from creators without leaving Instagram.

Instagram is also testing a Clips as Reels tool that lets creators cut segments from long videos into Reels that link back to the full video. Viewers can save the long videos to watch later on TV via the Instagram app.

Features and Clips as Reels are currently testing in Brazil and rolling out to a limited set of users in the United States. Instagram is also working on improved live video presentation and a separate profile hub for multi‑part Reels to better connect short and long formats on phones and TVs.