Instagram Launches Long-Form Video App

Crossing its one-billion-user mark, Instagram has unveiled IGTV, a new app for long-form video.

IGTV will feature content—of up to an hour long—from Instagram creators. The app is “built for how you actually use your phone,” Kevin Systrom, co-founder and CEO, said in announcing the initiative, “so videos are full screen and vertical. We strived to make it simple, too. Just like turning on the TV, IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app. You don’t have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests.” IGTV will feature creator channels: “when you follow a creator on Instagram, their IGTV channel will show up for you to watch.”

The global initiative begins rolling out over the next few weeks. Shortly following the announcement, National Geographic revealed it will air the full final episode of One Strange Rock on IGTV. The channel has some 89 million Instagram followers.