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Instagram tests 90-minute Features videos, Clips as Reels and Series for creators

Social News · 26 October 2026 · Source: Social Media Today

Instagram has started testing a set of long-form video tools. Features lets selected creators publish videos of up to 90 minutes, suited to podcasts, vlogs and interviews, and is expanding from Brazil to select US creators from October 26. Clips as Reels lets creators link up to eight Reels back to a longer video, while Series groups episodic Reels under a single theme. Phone-as-remote control is also coming to Instagram's connected TV app.

For sports teams, this opens the door to hosting full press conferences, behind-the-scenes documentaries, club podcasts or extended player interviews directly on Instagram, where fan communities already live. Clips as Reels is a natural fit for cutting short highlights that funnel fans into a full matchday film, and Series can package recurring formats like weekly training diaries or a season-long docuseries.

There are caveats: Instagram's earlier long-form effort, IGTV, was shut down in 2022, and the platform pays creators far less per view than YouTube, so monetization will rely mainly on sponsorship. Clubs and athletes should treat Features as a branded-content opportunity, building partner-presented long-form shows, while keeping YouTube as the main home for ad-revenue video.

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