Instagram eyes living room audiences as Meta tests episodic shows and live TV formats

Instagram is taking another step beyond its mobile roots, with Meta testing episodic series, live TV experiences and longer-form creator content as it expands the platform's television presence.The company on Monday said Instagram for TV is now available on Samsung Smart TVs in the United States, extending support to 2020 model-year TVs and newer. With the Samsung rollout, Instagram is now available across the majority of connected TV devices in the US, alongside Amazon Fire TV and Google TV.Meta said the expansion is a reflection of how people already use Instagram on television, often as a shared experience with friends and family in the room. The company said it is focusing on making it easier for users to discover videos together, pick up where they left off and share content more naturally on the big screen.To that end, Instagram is testing a set of new features designed around discovery and group viewing. These include channels organised around interests such as comedy, sports and favourite creators, making it easier for viewers to find content everyone in the room can enjoy.The platform is also allowing users on Google TV and Fire TV to cast Reels directly from their phones to their televisions, including videos saved in the Saved tab. That gives users a quicker way to move content from mobile to the living room without breaking the flow of viewing.Instagram is also bringing Stories to TV, so users can catch up on updates from friends and creators without crowding around a phone screen. Another feature being tested is a dedicated home for horizontal videos, a notable shift for a platform that has long been shaped by vertical, mobile-first content. The move suggests Meta wants Instagram to work better on larger screens and longer viewing sessions, where horizontal formats are more natural.Beyond the current tests, Meta is also exploring new formats built specifically for television. These include longer-form creator content that would let creators tell deeper stories, episodic series that unfold across multiple episodes and live TV experiences that would bring real-time creator broadcasts to the big screen.The company said it is working closely with creators as it develops these formats, with the aim of understanding how TV viewing can complement the way people already use Instagram on mobile. Meta sees creators as central to the next phase of the product, especially as it experiments with formats that could make Instagram more of a destination for shared entertainment than just short-form clips on a phone.Instagram for TV has evolved since it first began testing, but Meta said the product is still in the early stages of understanding what social video looks like on television. Even so, the company appears to be betting that the living room could become a meaningful new space for Instagram, especially as connected TV continues to blur the line between social media and streaming.Also read: Meta scales practical AI ad tools, unifies creator ecosystem and expands business agents