Now that Instagram has launched IGTV, will it be a more popular platform for everyone to watch their favorite creatives than YouTube channels?
With the recent launch of IGTV, Instagram is gearing itself up to be more than just a platform for sharing and checking out visual content. While IGTV is a separate app that you can watch — as its name suggests — like your usual TV, you can also watch videos from the content creators you follow within the Instagram app. Could this mean that we may all eventually move from YouTube channels to IGTV channels to watch our favorite photographers share their tips and tricks?
Let’s recap some basics about the newly launched IGTV. According to Instagram, their new feature is built for watching long-form vertical videos of up to an hour long. So, it’s different from the minute-long Stories we see on Instagram. Also, the videos you can watch on IGTV aren’t limited to those made by people you already follow: simply switch between “For You,” “Following,” and “Popular,” to discover more stuff to watch. The new app also allows you to like, comment, and send videos to your friends via Direct.
Once you open the IGTV app, it immediately starts playing videos and essentially sucks you into a vortex of endless stuff to watch. Here, the people you follow and the accounts that make the videos are no longer called creators — they are the channels. Anyone can be a creator-channel and upload videos through the IGTV app.
Everyone is now saying that IGTV is Instagram’s answer to YouTube and that’s not far from the truth. There’s also potential for it to become everyone’s platform of choice to discover and watch videos from their favorite content creators and creatives — especially photographers, filmmakers, and vloggers. Since you already have some videos ready to watch from people and accounts you already follow, you’re sure to watch stuff you’re interested in instead of fumbling around for people to subscribe to. There are no ads or commercials on IGTV (yet) so we can all enjoy watching without interruptions, but it’s only a matter of time before they start popping up.
There’s one advantage that YouTube has over IGTV: the ability to watch in HD. If you’d like to watch something where this functionality is really important — say a photography tutorial or a camera review — you’re more likely to watch on your laptop than your phone.
Only time can tell if IGTV will indeed be the more popular video platform, but we’d like to know your thoughts about Instagram’s latest venture!
Photos via Instagram Info Center
