Instagram expands Reels beyond mobile with new TV experience

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Meta is bringing Instagram Reels to the big screen. In a significant product expansion, the company has launched a dedicated Reels TV experience, allowing users to watch Reels content on connected TVs and smart devices. The feature is now live in India and the US, with a broader global rollout planned.

This move marks Meta’s deeper push into cross-device engagement, reflecting how users consume video content across screens. The new experience includes continuous, full-screen Reels playback, enhanced with voice controls, autoplay, and personalized recommendations — making it easier to enjoy short-form videos in a lean-back living room setup.

Instagram Reels on TV is integrated into Meta Quest, Portal, and Chromecast, with support for Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, and more coming soon. The interface mirrors popular streaming platforms, showcasing vertical video in a horizontal layout, optimized for shared viewing.

Meta is also using this expansion to attract advertisers and creators, opening up opportunities for larger-screen ad formats, branded integrations, and more immersive storytelling formats.

The initiative comes amid growing competition from YouTube Shorts and TikTok, which already have TV integrations. For Meta, this move is as much about retaining user attention across devices as it is about unlocking new monetization avenues and making Reels more family-friendly or group-viewing oriented.

It’s also a strategic response to Gen Z and Millennial consumption trends, where short-form video remains dominant, but screen flexibility is increasingly valued.