Instagram's second long-form gamble rides on micro-dramas, creators and connected TV

Instagram's decision to bring its TV app to Samsung Smart TVs while testing episodic series and live creator experiences marks more than another feature rollout. Industry executives say it is a calculated attempt to capture the next wave of connected TV (CTV) advertising, turning Instagram from a mobile-first platform into a cross-screen media business.The move expands Instagram's television footprint beyond Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, eight years after the platform first ventured into long-form video with IGTV, a product that was eventually shut down. This time, however, executives believe Meta is avoiding the mistakes of the past by taking content that already works on mobile and extending it to the living room instead of asking creators to produce an entirely different format.Gopa Menon, COO and Co-founder of TheBlurr, says the strategy is fundamentally different from IGTV. "Instagram failed at long-form once already because IGTV asked mobile creators to make TV content for a mobile audience. This time it's not changing the content, it's changing the screen. It's taking the Reels that already exist and series that creators are already stitching together on mobile, and just giving them a second screen to land on."But Menon believes the larger motivation is advertising rather than content."I think the real driver is advertiser monies. That's where ad budgets are moving. Globally, CTV upfronts are set to overtake primetime linear television for the first time this year, while advertiser intent to spend more on CTV is running well ahead of paid social. Meta isn't chasing eyeballs on TV just for reach. It's chasing a budget line that's currently flowing to YouTube, OTT platforms and broadcast."According to Menon, Meta's competitive advantage lies less in putting videos on television screens and more in bringing its advertising infrastructure along with them."The advantage Meta's building toward isn't the big screen itself. It's measurement. Any CTV player can put video on a TV. Meta can put video on a TV with the same targeting and attribution stack advertisers already use on mobile."Read More:YouTube’s new CTV metric could make TV ads look bigger and cheaper for brandsIf episodic programming and live creator formats mature, he argues, Instagram could eventually offer broadcast-style advertising inventory while allowing brands to buy both performance and brand campaigns within the same ecosystem."Performance marketers who've been buying Reels for direct response now get a CTV line item without leaving the Meta ecosystem, while brand budgets that have traditionally gone to YouTube or streaming inventory now have a credible Meta alternative."He adds that "Reels proved creators could hold attention in 15 seconds. Now Instagram's betting it can stretch that attention out by the half-hour, on a screen advertisers already trust more than they trust a phone."Arjit Sachdeva, Co-founder of VDO.AI, says the rollout reflects a broader shift in where audiences are consuming content. "This is Instagram following attention to where it's increasingly going: the living room."He says shared viewing fundamentally changes advertising economics."Connected TV ad spend is climbing fast and shared viewing is becoming the norm. Putting Reels and creator content on the big screen opens a genuinely new inventory pool for advertisers. A single impression can now reach a whole room rather than one viewer."For Instagram, the opportunity extends beyond audience reach."The platform now has a path to extend its existing creator and Reels ad formats into the living room, while longer-form and live content create room for richer placements than a short mobile feed allows. It also lets Instagram compete for CTV budgets that have traditionally flowed to streaming and linear TV while keeping advertisers within an ecosystem they already understand."If viewers embrace the new formats, Sachdeva believes Instagram could evolve into "a full-funnel, cross-screen advertising platform rather than a mobile-only one."Akshay Mathur, Founder and CEO of Unpromptd, says Instagram's latest push reflects changing viewing habits rather than a reversal on short-form video."For years, the narrative has been that short-form video is the future, but consumer behaviour isn't confined to one format anymore. People discover content on their phones during the day, but increasingly they're happy to consume longer creator content on a larger screen in the evening. Instagram is simply adapting to that reality."He says connected television could unlock premium advertising opportunities for sectors that have traditionally relied on television."If longer-form episodic content and creator experiences gain traction on connected TVs, it creates a new layer of premium inventory that allows brands to tell richer stories while still benefiting from Meta's targeting and measurement capabilities."Mathur believes the development also reflects a broader convergence across the media industry."YouTube has become a television platform, Netflix is increasingly embracing creators, and now Instagram is extending itself into the living room. The battle is no longer just for mobile screen time. It's for consumer attention across every screen they use during the day."While acknowledging IGTV's failure, he argues market conditions have changed significantly."Today, connected TV adoption is significantly higher, creator-led entertainment has become mainstream, and audiences are far more comfortable watching creators on their televisions. Those structural shifts make this a much more credible opportunity than it was a few years ago."He does not expect Instagram to abandon short-form content."Short-form will continue to be the discovery engine. What Instagram is trying to build is a seamless journey where discovery happens on mobile, engagement deepens through longer-form content, and eventually commerce and advertising become even more effective because Meta can connect those consumer touchpoints across devices."Another emerging opportunity, according to Sajal Gupta, CEO of Kiaos Marketing, is the rapid rise of micro-dramas."Instagram's CTV push is less a random product experiment and more a strategic course correction after IGTV. IGTV tried to manufacture a new behaviour without solving discovery or creator economics. Instagram on TV starts from where the product is already strong: Reels, a capable recommendation system and consumers who are already used to watching social video on the biggest screen in the house."Gupta believes short-form episodic storytelling could become the bridge between social feeds and television viewing."Micro-dramas have become the breakout format across Reels and TikTok. These short, tightly scripted, episodic vertical stories naturally create 'just one more' behaviour. The same creative grammar can be reassembled into TV-length binges."For advertisers, he says, that creates a new premium environment."That becomes a brand-safe, high-attention slot sitting somewhere between a Reel and a TV episode, opening premium inventory that can compete directly with YouTube for big-screen advertising budgets."Looking ahead, Gupta believes Instagram's ambitions extend beyond simply making Reels available on television."The more compelling scenario is Instagram becoming a social layer on top of connected TV through co-viewing rooms, creator-hosted watch parties around major events, companion streams and commerce integrated into those experiences. Instagram isn't just chasing YouTube onto television. It's trying to redefine what a social feed looks like when the primary screen is in the living room instead of your hand."Taken together, the industry's assessment suggests Instagram's latest television expansion is less about making videos longer and more about making advertising larger. Short-form discovery remains at the heart of the platform, but by extending creators, measurement tools and monetisation onto connected televisions, Meta is positioning Instagram to compete for the premium CTV budgets traditionally reserved for broadcasters, streaming platforms and YouTube.Read More:The end of the ad-free era: Can OpenAI monetize India’s "high-intent" users without breaking their trust?Also read: Prasar Bharati bets on microdramas and creator content in new WAVES OTT frameworkPrasar Bharati wants creators to bring their own audience to WAVES OTT