Instagram expands TV app to challenge Netflix and Prime Video

Instagram is moving off the phone and onto the biggest screen in the house, widening its TV app to Samsung Smart TVs in the United States, including 2020 model year sets and newer. Meta said the product now reaches the majority of connected TV devices in the US when paired with Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, a shift that puts Instagram in more direct competition for the same viewing time long dominated by Netflix and Prime Video.

The company is not treating the living room as a simple mirror of the mobile app. Instagram said it is testing interest-based channels, the ability to cast Reels and stories from a phone, and a dedicated home for horizontal video made for TV screens. Those features point to a service that wants viewers to lean back, browse by topic and keep moving through video without picking up a handset every few seconds.

Meta is also pushing beyond short clips. It said it is exploring longer-form creator content, episodic series and Live on TV, with those formats aimed at shared viewing in the living room. Instagram described the TV experience as one meant for friends and family watching together, passing the remote and trading recommendations in real time. The company said Reels in the test generally follow the 13+ Content Ratings system, a sign that it is building the product for a broad household audience rather than a solo scroll session.

The expansion builds on a rollout that began as a test on December 16, 2025, starting with Amazon Fire TV in the United States. Meta added Google TV devices on February 24, 2026, and has since moved Instagram for TV into a wider phase as it works out how creators, viewers and advertisers will use it. Meta has said it is working closely with creators to learn what performs best on TV and how those experiences can complement the ways people already use Instagram.

The timing matters. Nielsen said in May 2025 that streaming surpassed the combined share of broadcast and cable TV viewing for the first time, while YouTube has repeatedly led TV viewing among media companies. Meta is now trying to claim its own place in that shift, aided by a new Series feature for Reels on Instagram and Facebook that groups related videos into episodic collections. If Instagram can turn short-form social video into a habit on television, the contest for living-room attention will spread far beyond traditional streaming rivals.