LGBTQ+ production company Equal Entertainment announced the acquisition of Pride Media this week to form Equal Pride, now the largest LGBTQ+-owned media, digital, TV and entertainment company in the U.S.

This comes as brands seek diverse-owned media companies to shift ad dollars toward, in order to more authentically reach specific communities. 

Equal Pride will combine Equal Entertainment’s TV, film and documentary production studio, including the Celebrity Page Network, with the editorial assets previously housed under Pride Media: The Advocate, Out Magazine, Out Traveler Magazine, Plus Magazine and Pride.com. The merged company will be LGBTQ+ majority-owned with the greater portion of employees identifying as LGBTQ+, women or people of color as well.

“In this extraordinary time of equality and brand responsibility, our qualitative research shows that if brands show consistent 'love and loyalty' to the LGBTQ+ community, they will show 'love and loyalty' in return. It's that simple. And we define consistent as not just one day or one month, but a 365-day commitment in all communications from internal to shareholders to advertising,” said Mark Berryhill, who will take over as Equal Pride’s CEO after serving as founder and partner of Equal Entertainment for over 13 years, in an email to Ad Age.

Berryhill will be joined by former Equal Entertainment Co-Owner and Board Chair Michael Kelley, who will serve as Equal Pride’s chairman and president of global growth and development, as well as Diane Anderson-Minshall, who will transition from Pride Media’s CEO and executive editorial director to Equal Pride’s Chief Global and Development Officer.

“We could not be more excited about the opportunity to join forces with Equal,” said Anderson-Minshall in a statement. “This combination will not only create an unparalleled scale with the most diverse and engaged audiences for advertisers as well as other strategic revenue opportunities, but it will also bring together some of our community’s top talent, the most popular media brands, and the most impactful content in the world. This is the beginning of our most exciting chapter.”

Equal Pride clients include General Motors, Google Pixel, Gilead, Capital One, Disney/Hulu, TikTok, McDonald's, Molson Coors, NBCUniversal and Johnson & Johnson, among others. The company plans to expand its content in the future to reach increasingly diverse audiences, with content targeted to women and people of color.