Instagram is dipping its toes into longform video, with a new feature dubbed Features beginning testing this week. Features plays horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long, opening the door to more traditional longform content on Instagram instead of exclusively shortform content and clips that direct users to other platforms to see the whole thing. The current iteration of the Features test includes select U.S. creators, following an earlier test in Brazil. Features is aimed at podcasters, comedians and other long-form creators. Similarly to YouTube Shorts, Instagram creators will be able to link their Reels to full videos, directing viewers of clips to keep watching without leaving the Meta ecosystem. Features videos will also be recommended on the Explore page. Instagram VP of product Tessa Lyons tells The Hollywood Reporter the company is working on deals with some early creators. There is no exclusivity requirement. Creators can bring existing ad deals into their videos, and Instagram will help others find sponsors. Matching YouTube remains a challenge, since YouTube pays qualified creators 55% of ad revenue. Features works on mobile, but Lyons expects most long-form viewing to happen on TV.
Netflix Hires Former Apple Exec Steve Wilson to Lead Podcast Acquisitions by Caitlin Huston
Former Apple Podcasts executive Steve Wilson has joined Netflix to lead podcast content acquisition. He will start as a consultant. Bloomberg first reported the hire, and Netflix has confirmed it. Wilson spent 15 years at Apple, working in editorial, partner relations and show marketing for Apple Podcasts. He later served as chief strategy officer at QCODE and most recently worked at podcast and creator company Daylight Media. The hire comes as Netflix cuts about 6% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 people. The Hollywood Reporter calls it the company’s largest staff reduction since 2022.
Members Who Listen Churn at Less Than Half the Rate by David Stern
Supporting Cast looked at member churn across six partners: City Cast, Defector, The Dispatch, Slate, The Verge and Vox. Members who activated their audio benefits churned at an average of 1.3% a month. Members who did not churned at 3%. Depending on the partner, listeners were 28% to 81% less likely to cancel. Every partner came in under Recurly’s 4.14% monthly churn benchmark for digital media. The gap grows over time. Out of 1,000 non-listeners, about 350 cancel within a year. Only about 145 listeners do. After three years, nearly three-quarters of non-listeners are gone. Fewer than 40% of listeners have left. Stern estimates 1,000 members paying $10 a month bring in about $289,000 over three years if they churn like listeners. That falls to about $207,000 if they churn like non-listeners. Supporting Cast counts anyone who has ever downloaded an episode as a listener. Stern acknowledges the data cannot fully separate cause from effect. Loyal members may simply be more likely to listen. He suggests publishers make feed setup easier, include it in welcome emails and promote the members-only feed on the show.
Nearly 60% of Americans regularly get news from social media, according to a Syracuse University study cited by Digiday. News creators say that audience is still hard to monetize. Pearpop VP of talent management Kurt Stadelman calls news one of the toughest creator categories. He points to brand safety concerns around political and controversial content. Creators are also picky about sponsors. Former local anchor Mark Istook says he turns down brands that would not feel authentic to his audience. Several of the five creators Digiday spoke with say TikTok has been unpredictable since its U.S. ownership deal closed in January. YouTube’s Brendan Feldman, director of news, civics and podcast partnerships, says the platform is courting journalists who leave traditional outlets. Most of the creators see subscriptions as steadier than ads or brand deals.
…as for the rest of the news:
- iOS 27.2 is now available to everyone and brings a refreshed Up Next screen to Apple Podcasts. New Episodes from followed shows and Continue Playing for in-progress episodes now sit in separate sections.
- beehiiv launches podcast advertising tools on all of its paid plans, including dynamic ad insertion, programmatic ads and sponsorship management. There is no minimum download requirement. CEO Tyler Denk says video hosting arrives before the end of the year.
- Amy Pilewski has joined Gamut Podcast Network as head of sales.
- Eileen Bagshaw is now VP of revenue partnerships at Red Seat Ventures.
- JAR Podcast Solutions’ Democracy Decoded, made with Campaign Legal Center, won Gold for Best Government & Political Podcast Series at the 2026 Davey Awards.
- On Podcast Perspectives, Flightcast co-founder Rox Codes tells Jeff Umbro what video-first creators need from a host. He also argues creators get more value from learning long-form YouTube than from chasing short clips.
- Rephonic finds 810 of the 1,411 Senate, governor and House candidates on November’s ballot have been on a podcast this year
