Instagram is now available on Samsung Smart TVs in the US. Users can watch Reels, Stories, and longer videos on the big screen. Meta aims to bring social video into shared living rooms.
Instagram is moving beyond mobile screens by launching its app on Samsung Smart TVs in the United States, giving content creators and publishers a new way to reach audiences in shared living spaces. The rollout, which follows previous launches on Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, now covers Samsung models from 2020 onward, according to Meta. This expansion means Instagram is accessible on a significant portion of connected TVs in US households, potentially changing how social video is consumed and shared.
The TV version of Instagram initially focuses on Reels, organizing videos by interests such as sports, comedy, and specific creators. Meta said the shift reflects changing user behavior, with Instagram content increasingly watched together by families or friends. To support this, the company is testing features that make it easier to discover and share videos on TV, including casting Reels from a smartphone, viewing Stories on the big screen, and a dedicated section for horizontal videos.
Adapting Instagram for television brings new challenges. Most Instagram content was designed for vertical, mobile viewing. Meta is now experimenting with formats tailored for TV, such as longer videos, episodic series, and live programming. The company told Forbes it does not expect creators to produce traditional "TV content" but wants to help existing creators reach new viewing situations. Instagram is working with creators to identify which formats perform best on television screens.
The competition for TV attention is intensifying. YouTube already commands a large share of TV viewing, outpacing many traditional media outlets, according to Nielsen data from May 2026. TikTok is also pushing its content onto larger screens, including partnerships with Disney to distribute select TikTok videos via Disney+. This battle for living room screen time means platforms are racing to capture audiences who are shifting from individual mobile use to group TV viewing. For more on how media organizations are adapting to changing audience behaviors, see this analysis of newsrooms' challenges in demonstrating impact to key audiences.
Meta describes Instagram for TV as an early-stage project and plans further testing. The company sees the move as more than just another app for smart TVs-it is an experiment in translating mobile-first social experiences into a format suited for group consumption, while offering creators a new distribution channel. Whether Instagram's mobile engagement patterns will translate to the living room remains to be seen, but Meta is positioning itself to compete directly with established video and streaming platforms.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, reported over 3 billion monthly active users across its family of apps as of early 2026. Instagram itself surpassed 2 billion monthly active users in 2025, making it one of the largest social platforms globally. Samsung, a leading smart TV manufacturer, shipped more than 40 million smart TVs worldwide in 2025, according to industry data, giving Instagram's TV app a substantial potential audience in the US market.
