Photo and video sharing social platform –Instagram has announced plans to discontinue support for its standalone app IGTV.
The social media platform made this known via a blog post, stating that it will instead start to focus on keeping all video in the main Instagram app.
In the blog post, the social platform disclosed that the decision was “part of its efforts to make video as simple as possible to discover and create.” The decision isn’t a sudden one, there has always been the handwriting on the wall stating an end for the YouTube competitor. The post also touched on plans for video content going forward, the social media platform plans to ensure videos in the main app will have a full-screen viewer and tap-to-mute while working on a consistent way that different types of videos (such as video posts or Reels) are shared.
The company has also disclose that a new ad experience is in the works, this will allow creators to earn revenue from ads displayed on their reels via the platform. Although no specific time was announced but the expectation is that it would be launched later in the year.
The IGTV app was first introduced in 2018 and because of its ability to house long-form vertical videos it has since been a competition to YouTube. In about a year of launch, IGTV content begun been heavily promoted in the main Instagram app, with videos showing up on the Explore page, and previews showing up in stories and on the main feed. Later in the year 2020, the button that drives users to IGTV content from the main app was removed because only few people engaged with it. In 2021, IGTV was rebranded as “Instagram TV,” while the hour-long time limit was reduced to that of regular videos.
While the IGTV app is all set to be retired from circulation, the social media platform reiterates its plans on focusing heavily on videos while ensuring video sharing experience is better.
In the company’s blog post titled “Continuing our video investment on Instagram,” which discusses IGTV’s retirement, one can tell the social platform is not slowing down on its commitment to improving video delivery.
Last year, Instagram’s lead mentioned that the social platform was no longer just a photo app — instead, it’s now becoming a general entertainment app and ready to run in close competition to TikTok and YouTube. A number of new video features are being added to the main Instagram app from time to time though many say this feature are a replica from TikTok.
