Instagram wants 90-minute videos but isn't sharing ad money

30 Oct 2026, 11:17 · The Fresno Bee

Creators go where the money is.

YouTube figured that out early. It shares ad revenue with the people who make its videos, and that deal turned it into the biggest video platform in the world.

Plenty of apps have tried to catch up. Few have matched that check.

If you make videos for a living, that difference shows up in your bank account. A view on one app can be worth real money, while the same view on another is worth nothing but exposure.

Now one of the biggest apps on the planet wants long videos too. It just isn’t offering the same deal.

Oscar Wong / Getty Images

Instagram is testing 90-minute videos

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (META), is testing a format called Features that lets creators post horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, Tubefilter reported.

The test started with some long-form creators in Brazil. Instagram plans to expand it to “tens of thousands of creators” in the U.S. “over the coming months.”

The videos are built for podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators. They’re also headed to Instagram’s TV app, which now runs on Apple TV.

Short clips point viewers to the full episode

Creators can cut short clips from a Features video and post them as Reels. Each clip links back to the full video.

Up to eight clips can point to one long video, Convergence reported. “You see a clip of a podcast that you love, you can just click and continue watching,” said Tessa Lyons, Instagram’s vice president of product, according to Tubefilter.

It’s a big reversal for Instagram head Adam Mosseri. “For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram,” he said, Tubefilter reported.

Instagram’s boss says paying creators loses money

Here’s the catch. Instagram isn’t sharing ad revenue on these videos.

A Meta spokesperson said it’s “too early to share a long-term monetization model,” according to Tubefilter. The company said it’s exploring ways for creators to earn “from brands, fans, and Instagram.”

Mosseri was blunter about Instagram’s existing payment program. “We spend more money than we make back by a long shot,” he said on The Colin and Samir Show, Net Influencer reported.

He added that creators “don’t produce a lot more when we pay.” In other words, paying them mostly shifts views around instead of creating new ones.

Instagram is directly funding some creators in the test, Variety reported, according to Net Influencer.

YouTube still sets the bar

That’s where YouTube pulls ahead.

YouTube gives creators in its Partner Program 55% of net ad revenue on long-form videos, according to its help center. For Shorts, creators get 45% of a shared revenue pool.

The totals are huge. YouTube said it paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over four years, Shacknews reported in September 2025.

By my math, that’s about $25 billion a year on average.

Here’s how the two offers compare for long videos:

YouTube long-form ad share: 55% of net ad revenue
YouTube Shorts: 45% of a shared creator pool
Instagram Features: No ad revenue share yet
Instagram’s pitch: Reach, brand deals and possible future incentives

Some video makers are skeptical

Not everyone is sold.

“If people can watch my long-form on Instagram instead of YouTube, am I cannibalizing my AdSense?” creator Vanessa Lau asked, according to The Publish Press.

“I can see it disincentivizing a lot of creators from posting their full long-form there,” she added.

More Creator Economy:

Others see value in the audience. “Attention and discovery are forms of currency,” Samir of The Colin and Samir Show said, The Publish Press reported.

Mosseri seemed to hear the complaints. “We understand the economics matter a ton, and are exploring multiple options to help long-form creators get paid,” he wrote on X.

Where to post your full-length work

If you make videos, the math is simple. Every full-length view you move from YouTube to Instagram could be a view that no longer earns ad money.

That doesn’t mean Instagram is a bad bet. It means you should use it for what it pays in, which today is reach.

Here’s a practical approach:

Keep full episodes on YouTube. That’s where the ad share lives
Use Instagram clips as a funnel. Post Reels that point fans to your full video
Sell sponsorship across both. Brand deals can pay for Instagram views even without an ad share
Track where income actually comes from. Compare earnings per view on each app every month

Meta has a bigger bill to cover

There’s a bigger reason Meta is careful with cash right now.

The company plans to spend $135 billion to $145 billion on capital projects this year, mostly for AI, according to its third-quarter earnings release. It’s also selling up to about $100 billion of stock to help pay for that buildout.

I’d expect Meta to keep testing cheaper ways to reward creators before it commits to a YouTube-style revenue split.

For now, Instagram is asking creators for their longest work while paying mostly in attention. Whether that’s enough will decide if Features becomes a real YouTube rival or another IGTV.

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This story was originally published October 30, 2026 at 4:17 AM.