With 1 billion active users per month, Instagram is Mark Zuckerberg’s secret weapon to bring down YouTube and consolidate its presence as a video platform.
At a recent San Francisco event, Facebook announced that it will begin allowing users to upload videos that are up to 1 hour in length, over the current 1-minute limit.
Like a TV, IGTV will start playing videos as you soon as you open the app. IGTV will recommend you some channels based on your likings and browsing history. There are also different tabs in IGTV which will help you in finding the content of your choice. The tabs include “For You”, “Following”, “Popular” and “Continue Watching”.
Just like Youtube, all users can make a channel of their own. Instagram has been in talks with popular content creators, and several of them have already joined IGTV.
In addition, the application will introduce a new hub inside IGTV that will highlight popular videos from celebrities and content producers.
Users will also be able to send vertical videos through the Instagram application or through the web site, going directly to a confrontation with YouTube.
The company also announced plans for a monetization program for IGTV creators, allowing revenue sharing through ads in near future. Right now we’re focused on building engagement, and there are no ads in IGTV in day one. Systrom said to a group of reporters after the event. “But that is a very reasonable place to end up. There will obviously be a way for creators to make a living since they spend their lives doing this.
