“The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said of his company’s rival back in 2013. Thirteen years later, that memorable line might be best reappropriated by a different tech company: Instagram.
That’s because the Meta-owned social media giant recently indicated its intent to begin working with creators on its platform to generate long-form episodic programming for a new version of its app, intended for use on TV screens instead of mobile phones.
Why is Instagram suddenly trying to become HBO — or any TV programmer, really? It’s not like the platform’s short-form video play, Reels, is some kind of slouch, having achieved a phenomenal $50 billion revenue run rate. No other source of video in linear or streaming has been as lucrative.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that Reels probably still has more upside if TV-style content can help Instagram improve the length of average viewer engagement time and begin to partake of advertising budgets reserved for more premium programming.
The notion of Reels, a hub for quickie viral sensations, ever being able to compete with the likes of Tubi or Disney+, may seem unthinkable. But a recent survey, conducted by Morgan Stanley as part of its 16th annual Alphawise Streaming Survey, featured a data point that underscores the opportunity Instagram could seize here.
When 3,000 U.S. adults 18-plus were asked what streaming sources they were using as entertainment across a broad range of free and subscription market entrants, it wasn’t surprising to see Prime Video and Netflix rank among those with the widest footprints. But on a year-over-year growth basis, it was Reels and other free short-form mobile-based apps with the most momentum.
The clear leader was Reels, which registered a 13% increase — well ahead of second-place TikTok and another Meta platform, Facebook Reels, which both notched around 10%. No others could boast growth stats anywhere near as robust.
Just imagine what this increase could be if the Instagram for TV app catches on. TikTok doesn’t seem to be moving to TV as aggressively, so there’s a window of opportunity here. Instagram for TV was recently added to Samsung smart TVs in the U.S., having previously launched on Amazon Fire TV and Google TV.
A move this big won’t be an overnight success, but if Instagram can navigate the transition to bigger screens, the impact on consumer video diets could be seismic.
