Instagram announces the shut down of the IGTV app

Instagram announced on Monday that it is discontinuing support for its standalone app for IGTV.

The parent company of Instagram, Meta, confirmed to TechCrunch that the app will be removed from app stores in mid-March.

According to a blog post, the change is part of the company’s efforts to make video as easy to discover and create as possible. Instagram says it will now prioritize having all video on its main app and will continue to simplify and improve video in the main Instagram app over the next few months.

Instagram dropped the IGTV branding last October when it combined IGTV’s long-form video and Instagram feed videos into a new format called simply “Instagram Video.” At the time, Instagram had said the IGTV app wouldn’t be going away and would instead be rebranded.

In addition, the company announced today that it will no longer support in-stream video ads, formerly known as IGTV ads, as it shifts its focus to Reels. According to Instagram, creators who actively monetize with in-stream video ads will receive a temporary monthly payment based on their most recent earnings.

Although this appears to be a step back in terms of creator monetization, Instagram has revealed that it is looking into new ways for users to earn money. Later this year, the company will start testing a new ad experience on Instagram, allowing users to earn money from ads displayed on their Reels. The new monetization option will be added to the Reels bonus program, which provides creators with opportunities to earn money on a monthly basis.

Instagram reiterated its focus on Reels, its short-form video TikTok competitor, as part of today’s announcements. According to the company, Reels continue to be the most important contributor to app engagement growth, and it intends to continue investing in the feature.

“Video is a big part of why people like Instagram, and we love how our creator community uses it to express themselves, collaborate with others, and connect with their followers,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We are excited to invest even more in this format as reels continue to be a growing and important part of Instagram.”

The decision to discontinue IGTV’s standalone app came at a time when the service was already losing ground as a standalone product. Due to a lack of traction, Instagram removed the orange IGTV button from its home page in early 2020. The move came at a time when only about 7 million of Instagram’s one billion-plus users had downloaded the standalone IGTV app, according to Sensor Tower research.