Social media moves into the living room
Instagram has begun piloting a Reels TV app on Amazon Fire TV in the US, marking a significant shift as social platforms expand into the connected TV (CTV) space. The move follows growing consumer behaviour trends, with more people watching short-form social video on large screens rather than solely on mobile devices. The app allows households to log in with multiple Instagram accounts, automatically curates content into themed “channels”, and enables a lean-back, TV-style browsing experience similar to channel surfing.
The broader CTV landscape already includes competitors such as YouTube, which has bolstered its TV presence with Shorts and long-form content, and TikTok, which has had TV apps but recently navigated compliance changes that affected their availability. Other platforms like Pinterest are also extending into CTV by acquiring ad tech firms, indicating how ad dollars are beginning to follow eyeballs across devices.
What this means for us: For advertisers, this shift blurs the boundaries between social video and TV advertising, opening opportunities for cross-screen planning, new premium inventory and more engaging shared-viewing creative. It also means rethinking formats: assets built for mobile may need to be re-engineered for larger-screen impact, sound-on environments and longer attention spans.
Link: https://www.axios.com/2025/12/16/instagram-reels-tv-app-youtube-tiktok