YouTube update could cause problems for Instagram’s IGTV

YouTube is optimizing non-standard video formats

Instagram announced its new video platform, IGTV, to much fanfare last month. The new form allows users to upload videos of up to an hour in length that can be found in the new IGTV Instagram tab or the new standalone app. The hook, which many believed could see Instagram stealing YouTube users, was the unique vertical-only videos IGTV showcases. Vertical videos raise the possibility of a new type of mobile video content perfect for Instagram’s influencers. YouTube has now announced that it will also offer optimized support for vertical videos.

YouTube Go Download YouTube Go

YouTube Go is a free, official app from Google that provides a variety of features that make the YouTube more bandwidth-conscious and help avoid buffering while on the go.

At the very least, this development should worry Instagram as there is no longer an incentive for its creators to only share their videos to IGTV exclusively. With YouTube having its own monetization platform, nothing is stopping Instagram users trying to reach out to new users, simply by sharing their vertical videos across multiple platforms.

As well as the vertical video announcement, YouTube also announced that non-widescreen videos would also be optimized too. Basically, the changes will remove the black bars from either side of the video, and the videos will appear to be larger. You can see examples below:

This new change brings YouTube desktop level with iOS and Android, which has had the updated video formats since December last year.

What do you think of this latest YouTube update? Are you a fan of IGTV, and do you think this will cause problems for Instagram’s new platform?