A new app allowing long-form vertical video became available to Instagram users on Thursday. The new service, called IGTV, will increase the average Instagram users' video time limit from one minute to 10 minutes. Top followed accounts will be able to show video for up to an hour. The IGTV announcement also came with the news that Facebook platform, now nearly 8-years-old, has a billion users.
There is a separate IGTV app if you want just video, but the service will also be available on the main Instagram app: users will be able to upload longer videos via the dedicated app, or via a TV shaped button on the main app. In a similar layout to Google-owned YouTube, IGTV will also include channels made by video creators.
The move appears to be a bid by Facebook to attract a younger audience to its platform. A study by the Pew Research Centre showed that 72 per cent of American teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17 use Instagram, while 85 per cent use YouTube. Of that demographic, only 51 per cent use Facebook.
"The way we are watching video is changing," Instagram chief Kevin Systrom told the event in San Francisco on Wednesday where IGTV was announced.
"Anyone can be a creator - you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel," Systrom said.
Some more on the new service...
- Mobile-first: IGTV is built for how you naturally use and hold your phone, so videos are all full screen and vertical.
- Simple to use: It starts playing as soon as you open the app, so you don't have to search to get started.
- Content: IGTV is built on the Instagram network so you can watch videos from people you already follow on Instagram, as well as discover others.
Who is already using it? As well as global top Instagram users, some of our regional influencers were quick to adopt the new app: Huda Kattan (@hudabeauty), Shereen Mitwalli (@shereenmitwalli) and Kris Fade (@krisfade)
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
