You will soon be able to watch Instagram reels on your TV: Here's how

In a significant shift towards the living room, Instagram has officially launched a dedicated television app, designed to bring its popular Reels format to the big screen. The move, announced this week, marks the social media giant’s most ambitious attempt yet to compete with traditional broadcasters and video-sharing rivals like YouTube.

Initially debuting as a pilot in the United States on Amazon Fire TV devices, the app allows users to experience the platform’s short-form vertical videos in a communal setting. Unlike the mobile experience, which is often a solitary "doomscroll", the TV app is built for shared viewing. It organises content into interest-based channels such as comedy, travel, and sport, allowing Reels to play automatically in a continuous stream.

Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s Vice President of Product, noted that the launch was inspired by community behaviour. "Watching Reels together is simply more fun," she explained, adding that users were already frequently "casting" mobile content to their televisions to share with friends and family.

The interface maintains the vertical "portrait" orientation of Reels, framed by sidebars on horizontal television screens. Users can navigate using their TV remote, like or comment on videos, and even switch between up to five different accounts, ensuring personalised recommendations for every member of the household.

While the project is separate from the now-defunct "IGTV" long-form experiment, it signals Meta’s intent to capture a larger slice of the "lean-back" entertainment market. Instagram has confirmed that while the app is currently ad-free during its testing phase, monetisation is likely to follow as the service expands to more devices and international markets.

For now, the app serves as a bold bridge between social media and traditional home entertainment, turning the smartphone's most addictive feature into a staple of the living room. After the initial testing phase, the Instagram TV App shall be expanded to more countries and non-Fire TV devices too.