Instagram reportedly wants to take on YouTube and has developed a new video hub called IGTV that it’s expected to launch later today. The report mentions that IGTV is going to be part of the Explore tab in the Instagram app and will feature videos that will be significantly longer than the 1-minute maximum videos that Instagram currently allows. The maximum time limit for IGTV videos is said to be 60 minutes.
TechCrunch reports that Instagram has met with online content creators in a bid to encourage them to create longer videos for Instagram. It’s apparently looking to tap into the vlogging niche which largely exists on YouTube. Enabling creators to post videos of up 60 minutes will provide them with another avenue for vlogging.
It’s not going the Snapchat route by inking content deals with publishers and TV studios. Instagram seems be relying on online content creators who are already used to creating this style of content and have built up significant fanbases on Instagram as it is.
The Facebook-owned company hasn’t confirmed or denied anything at this point in time but it’s expected to make an announcement in a couple of hours so it may not be long before we find out for sure what it has been working on.