Instagram has removed the IGTV button from the app. Now if you open the app, the IGTV icon is missing from the top right corner of the app.
Instagram has also confirmed the reason behind the move in a statement to Techcrunch. As per the company, very few people were clicking on the IGTV button located at the top right corner of the home screen on the Instagram app. Based on learning and feedback, the company decided to drop the IGTV button from the app.
IGTV videos will still be part of the app. So users do not need to download a separate IGTV app to watch videos. You can find IGTV videos on the IGTV tab inside Instagram Explore. IGTV videos will open in the same way as the recommended video.
Also see: How to make money on Instagram
The concept of IGTV was good, but it didn’t offer any way for creators to earn money from IGTV videos. So, creators didn’t take interest in making long vertical videos for Instagram users.
Video still gets most of the engagement on Instagram but only short videos. If Instagram wants to boost IGTV, it will have to help creators get paid for their hard work. Instagram is facing tough competition from TikTok that grew 80x faster than IGTV alone in the US. Most of the video content shared on Instagram has been made on TikTok. It shows that creators are actually making videos for TikTok, not for Instagram.
Instagram won the battle against Snapchat, but it will have to find something to be relevant against TikTok that is gaining popularity really fast. Teens are now addicted to TikTok and spend hours daily on the app.