Instagram’s TV app now runs on Apple TV, the fourth TV platform Meta has brought it to since testing began last December. Its App Store listing now includes Apple TV, with tvOS 26.0 or later required.
MacRumors, which spotted the change, said Apple’s TV-specific release metadata dates the app to Oct. 23, while an archived App Store listing from Oct. 19 still showed only iPhone and iPad. The site reported that the Apple TV description lists longer videos and live shows alongside Reels.
Four platforms in about 10 months
The app started as a U.S. test on Amazon Fire TV devices, with Reels sorted into interest-based channels and up to five accounts per TV. Google TV followed in February. In June, Meta added Samsung smart TVs from the 2020 model year onward and said that, combined with Fire TV and Google TV, Instagram “is now available across the majority of connected TV devices in the US.” Roku isn’t named in any of Meta’s posts about the app so far.
That June release also put Stories on the TV screen, added casting of Reels from a phone on Google TV and Fire TV, and opened a test section for horizontal video. Meta said the horizontal test gives “creators more ways to reach audiences.”
Longer videos are the part to watch
For brands and creators, format is the bigger question than device count. In June, Meta said it was exploring longer-form creator video, multi-episode series and a “Live on TV” option, with plans to roll out the new formats soon. TechCrunch noted that earlier that month Meta had started testing a “Series” feature for Reels, designed to make serialized content easier to follow on Instagram and Facebook.
Meta has been adding paid formats on the mobile side too, including the Super Burst and First Impression ads it introduced earlier this month. Neither the June post nor the original December announcement for the TV app mentions advertising.
On the creator side, the company’s June post said it is “working closely with creators to understand what works best on TV and how these experiences can complement the ways people already use Instagram.”