Instagram Gets Into Long-Form Video With IGTV

Watch out, YouTube. Instagram today launched a new app for watching long-form vertical video on your phone, IGTV.

"It's time for video to move forward and evolve," Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom (pictured above) said at the IGTV launch an event in San Francisco this afternoon. "In a world of overwhelming choice, you want the best videos not all videos."

The standalone IGTV app will be rolling out to iOS and Android globally over the coming weeks. In the meantime, Instagram will integrate IGTV into its main app via an update slated to arrive today. Once you update your Instagram app, look for the IGTV logo on the top-right side of your feed, next to the DM button.

As soon as you open IGTV, video will start playing in full-screen portrait mode—no need to click anything. If you're not into that video, swipe to check out other creators' channels.

"You don't have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests," Systrom wrote in a blog post today. "When you follow a creator on Instagram, their IGTV channel will show up for you to watch. Anyone can be a creator — you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel."

As you watch, you can like videos, leave a comment, and follow others. As was rumored, videos on IGTV can be up to an hour long. Instagram already supports hour-long live streams, but videos you post to your profile can only be up to one minute long and story clips are capped at just 15 seconds.

During its event this afternoon, Instagram brought on stage content creator Lele Pons, who currently has more than 25.1 million followers on the platform, to talk about a new cooking show she's planning for IGTV.

"Instagram is like a home away from home for me," Pons said. In her new IGTV show, Pons will challenge some of her friends to find out who's the better cook.

A number of other prominent Instagram creators plan to launch IGTV content today, including: Selena Gomez (@selenagomez), Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian), and Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real). Also on tap: Bryce Xavier, Manny Gutierrez, Dominic Chambrone, Tyler Blevins, Susie Shu, Madelain Petsch, Ross Butler, and Virgil Abloh.

The launch of IGTV comes five years to the day since Instagram first introduced video on the platform.