UK Gay Times Battles Collapse in Ad Revenue as Anti-Diversity Pressure Mounts

[Social Media]

 

Gay Times Battles Collapse in Ad Revenue as Anti-Diversity Pressure Mounts

 

Gay Times, the long-running British LGBTQ+ magazine, has suffered a devastating collapse in advertising revenue, losing 80 percent of its advertisers in just one year. According to chief executive Tag Warner, the steep decline is tied to a coordinated and “well-funded anti-diversity effort” in the United States — a backlash that began before Donald Trump’s latest assault on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives.

 

 

Speaking about the current climate, Warner said, “It seems like LGBT+ inclusion was something that everybody wants to do but now hardly anybody wants to do.” He described the broader implications for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the economic impact on freelancers and the cancellation of major Pride events that can no longer secure corporate sponsorship. “We’ve seen entire Prides being cancelled because they don’t have funding any more. I know of hundreds of freelancers in the industry that rely on advertising and marketing campaigns to pay their bills. And now those bills aren’t being paid,” he said.

 

The financial blow to the publication has been severe. Campaign, a prominent advertising industry magazine, reports that Gay Times has lost more than £5 million in advertiser spending since the beginning of last year. The shortfall has forced the publication to make staff redundancies and pivot toward a reader investment model in an effort to stay afloat.

 

Warner pointed to unnamed conservative groups that have worked to dissuade companies from engaging in inclusive marketing, warning that this pressure began well before Trump re-entered the White House and dismantled DEI programs within the federal government. “The headwinds began at the beginning of 2024,” Warner said. “Everyone thinks it must have started and got really bad [after Trump]. It really didn’t.”

 

He explained that many of the advertising deals that were withdrawn were close to completion when brands suddenly pulled out. “Plans to renew contracts or launch new campaigns were often more than 70 percent complete when they were pulled,” he said, singling out the U.S. retailer Target as one company that abandoned its previously stated three-year diversity goals.

 

The shift in corporate behavior has not gone unnoticed in the wider advertising world. Leila Siddiqi, director of diversity and inclusion at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, acknowledged the growing trend of businesses quietly scaling back their diversity commitments amid rising political and economic tension. “What was once viewed as a vital part of ESG [environmental, social and governance] strategy is now, in some boardrooms, being reframed as a liability,” she said.

 

Siddiqi warned that the abandonment of inclusive values in pursuit of short-term financial or reputational risk management could backfire. “Pulling support from marginalised voices may provide short-term savings or risk mitigation, but it could carry long-term cultural, reputational and brand equity consequences,” she added.

 

As LGBTQ+ media outlets like Gay Times fight to survive in an increasingly hostile environment, the broader implications for representation, visibility, and cultural progress remain stark — and unresolved.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-06-27

 

 

[soalbundy]

I dare say the adverts for anal bleaching haven't diminished.

[jippytum]

Woke gay media support declined when they targeted children and young adults with gender correction. 

[mfd101]

So this is a UK magazine that depends on US advertising?

[SAFETY FIRST]

17 hours ago, Social Media said:

Gay Time

My favourite ice-cream. 

 

 

[GanDoonToonPet]

To be expected as the zeitgeist shifts...the only colour that matters is green.

[GeorgeCross]

Quote

“It seems like LGBT+ inclusion was something that everybody wants to do but now hardly anybody wants to do.”

 

translation: everybody stopped pretending once the fear of exile/cancellation lifted.

[quake]

Quote

Gay Times Battles Collapse in Ad Revenue as Anti-Diversity Pressure Mounts

 

Well that's a Bummer.

[James105]

18 hours ago, Social Media said:

As LGBTQ+ media outlets like Gay Times fight to survive in an increasingly hostile environment

 

Being gay these days is an accepted norm (muslim countries excepted of course).   It's not "hostile" and because it is so normalized the "gay times" would be just as relevant as the "left handed times" if it existed.   If they jumped on the trans bandwagon then they only have themselves to blame as a movement that cheats at sport, mutilates kids and invades womens spaces was only ever going to have a short lifetime.   

 

They were probably popular as they existed in a time before gay rights existed in the west.  Maybe they should start again in the middle east to replicate their past success.  

[thesetat]

20 hours ago, Social Media said:

Warner pointed to unnamed conservative groups that have worked to dissuade companies from engaging in inclusive marketing, warning that this pressure began well before Trump re-entered the White House and dismantled DEI programs within the federal government. “The headwinds began at the beginning of 2024,” Warner said. “Everyone thinks it must have started and got really bad [after Trump]. It really didn’t.”

Nothing could make me happier than to see promoting this ended completely. 

 

The fact that it started before Trump really puts a hamper on all those Blaming Trump for its demise. He only carried out the peoples wishes to continue ending its promotion after the fact. 

[JonnyF]

Being gay in 2025 is a bit like having lots of tattoos.

 

Nobody cares.

 

It's not shocking.

 

It's not impressive. 

 

It doesn't make you interesting. 

 

You're not special.

 

The gays hate it.

[Chomper Higgot]

All print media is facing a fall off in advertising revenue.

 

 

[Baht Simpson]

16 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Being gay in 2025 is a bit like having lots of tattoos.

 

Nobody cares.

 

It's not shocking.

 

It's not impressive. 

 

It doesn't make you interesting. 

 

You're not special.

 

The gays hate it.

Are you saying the gays hate being gay? Lol. 

[Baht Simpson]

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

All print media is facing a fall off in advertising revenue.

 

 

As a young man in the U.K. you really only had two ways to find out about important gay issues, Time Out and the freebie papers in gay-friendly pubs. 

 

When Gay Times started in 1984 Aids was about to hit and the paper became crucial to gay young men for unsensational information.

 

Gay Times lost it's way on occasion and submitted to the lure of the dollar but remained relevant even as other papers like Pink News, Advocate and Queerty gained market share. 

 

It would be a good discussion to talk about it and the relevance of gay papers today but not on here of course. The usual suspects would insist on braying on about trans people and pedos.

[Bday Prang]

14 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

All print media is facing a fall off in advertising revenue.

 

 

I would imagine most print media is seeing declining demand , its all "online" nowadays, Its days are numbered.  

[Bday Prang]

Just now, Baht Simpson said:

As a young man in the U.K. you really only had two ways to find out about important gay issues, Time Out and the freebie papers in gay-friendly pubs. 

You are forgetting about the graffiti on the walls of public toilets.  

[Baht Simpson]

3 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

You are forgetting about the graffiti on the walls of public toilets.  

You were obviously in public toilets more than I was. 

[Bday Prang]

4 minutes ago, Baht Simpson said:

You were obviously in public toilets more than I was. 

And how pray tell have we arrived at that ridiculous conclusion      Its actually a child like response

[Bday Prang]

4 hours ago, James105 said:

Being gay these days is an accepted norm (muslim countries excepted of course).   It's not "hostile"

Of course its not "hostile" and there are plenty of laws to ensure that just the opposite is true, However the alphabet community delight in playing the victim card at every opportunity, its a defining characteristic 

[Jingthing]

What's a magazine?

[angryguy]

Imagine the world if kamala harris won

[quake]

38 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What's a magazine?

 

Here you go.

 

[Baht Simpson]

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

And how pray tell have we arrived at that ridiculous conclusion      Its actually a child like response

You quoted my serious point and started on about grafitti in public toilets. I'd say that's the essense of child like responses, wouldn't you. Why not post something intelligent rather than a little dig? It rather confirms my other point about being unable to talk sensibly to some people here. 

[Bday Prang]

Just now, Baht Simpson said:

You quoted my serious point and started on about grafitti in public toilets. I'd say that's the essense of child like responses, wouldn't you. Why not post something intelligent rather than a little dig? It rather confirms my other point about being unable to talk sensibly to some people here. 

So am I wrong, is there no useful information on toilet walls,    I may be wrong but something like 

"phone this number to get bummed" is surely of interest to some 

[Baht Simpson]

8 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

So am I wrong, is there no useful information on toilet walls,    I may be wrong but something like 

"phone this number to get bummed" is surely of interest to some 

Your obsession with toilets and bums is alarming but perhaps not totally out of character. Nice to see how you can raise the standard of debate. 

[Bday Prang]

Just now, Baht Simpson said:

Your obsession with toilets and bums is alarming but perhaps not totally out of character. Nice to see how you can raise the standard of debate. 

When it comes to all that diversity rubbish the debate is already at gutter level, further more its days are numbered as evidenced in the OP

[Nick Carter icp]

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

All print media is facing a fall off in advertising revenue.

 

 

 

   But not losing  80 % in one year like in this instance

[Baht Simpson]

3 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

its days are numbered as evidenced in the OP

I doubt that very much. They'll just re-group.

 

If they do go there are plenty of others mags who exist on a fraction of what GT runs on.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   But not losing  80 % in one year like in this instance

Are you worrying about your subscription.......😧

[pacovl46]

7 hours ago, jippytum said:

Woke gay media support declined when they targeted children and young adults with gender correction. 

Well, that's so not how it works! "Gender corecction" is quite complex an issue and it's nowhere nearly as black and white as you might think. There's also a legitimate reason why they tried to raise this issue with kids because the younger kids are, the easier you can get them to accept things because they're too young to have an opiniom about it. So, if you teach kids at a young age that there are transgender people and that they're nothing to be made fun of, they'll just grow up beside them and it's gonna be a normal thing. That way you can eliminate a large part of the discrimination and ridicule they're experiencing now in the west. It should be like it is in Thailand, where anyone can be whatever they want and no one gives a flying f.ck about it! 

 

Having said that, and this goes for all minorities, if you become militant about YOUR issues and try to shove them down everyone's throat any chance you get, don't be surprised if this results in a knee-jerk reaction and diminishing support by the general public!!!