Instagram Tests 90-Minute Horizontal Videos In Major Play for Podcasters and Creators

Recent coverage from outlets including Moomoo, TheWrap, The Verge, Bloomberg.com, and The Hollywood Reporter details a major strategic shift by Meta Platforms' Instagram. The platform is currently testing a new long-form video feature that allows horizontal widescreen videos of up to 90 minutes in duration. This development represents a notable pivot for an application historically built around short-form visual content and vertical formats, bringing the platform into direct operational alignment with traditional television viewing habits and established streaming destinations. According to reporting from The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap, this feature rollout is specifically designed as a major play to capture podcasters and independent creators.

Bloomberg.com and The Verge emphasize that the move escalates Instagram's ongoing market rivalry with YouTube and TikTok. By introducing extended horizontal viewing capabilities, Meta Platforms is positioning the application to host the kind of long-form, widescreen media that has traditionally lived on competing video-sharing platforms and dedicated television interfaces. The context surrounding these tests highlights an intensifying competition among major technology companies for creator mindshare and user viewing time. While short-form vertical videos have dominated recent platform strategies across social media ecosystems, the current coverage demonstrates an emerging push toward longer-form content consumption.

Outlets note that this strategic evolution allows Instagram to broaden its content library, potentially capturing audiences who prefer sit-down interviews, podcasts, and fully produced widescreen episodes rather than brief, rapid-fire clips. As the testing phase is currently underway, public reporting does not yet specify a final release date for a global rollout, nor does it detail exact technical parameters beyond the ninety-minute limit and widescreen orientation. Observers will be monitoring subsequent updates from Meta Platforms and participating creators to see how audiences respond to long-form media within the Instagram ecosystem and how competing platforms react to this direct challenge.