Long rumored, Instagram’s long-form video hub or IGTV is supposed to be launched today and the video hub would be a crucial aspect of the Explore tab in the application, confirms TechCrunch. This initiative has been supported by a week of meetings with online content creators in which Instagram prompted them for preparing videos that would be almost similar in duration to the 10-minute YouTube vlogs as compared to the one-minute maximum videos permitted by the app presently.
Presently the focus of Instagram is directed towards web celebrities who gained fame on mobile rather than through the conventional publishers or TV studios. The preference is based on the outcomes in the case of TV studios and conventional publishers which has the highly polished and processed appearance. The basic idea vested in this, is to allow the creators with preferences for similar type and style of content and with a considerable Instagram audience for establishing certain standards about IGTV and its functions.
Instagram has declined to officially comment on name IGTV assigned to the video hub and its home in the Explore tab of the app. However, further details regarding the feature could be obtained at the launch event to be held in San Francisco at 9 AM PT today.
In accordance to an initial report published by the WSJ, it was observed that Instagram is presently working towards allowing longer videos and further information cited that Instagram planned on the development of an aggregated destination for viewing content at par with Snapchat Discover. The videos would be vertically oriented as well as full-screen with resolution ranging up to 4K. Users could find the facility of welcome with various recent popular videos as well as the options for Continue Watching videos which were not finished.
It is necessary to note that the videos will be similar to those found on YouTube as compared to the short media clips hosted by Instagram till date. The videos would also be characterized by a link-out option that can enable content creators to drive traffic to the e-commerce stores, social presences, and websites. It has also been noted that Instagram is planning on the introduction of direct monetization especially through the inclusion of advertising revenue shares which has not been finalized yet.
IGTV has been associated with predictions for introducing new behavior pattern for users. It is also perceived that in the event of the success of IGTV, Instagram could consider the development of a dedicated mobile app for IGTV or develop it as an app for smart televisions.
