Any discussion of the portrayal of gays and lesbians on television must consider the commercial demands of the medium. In her article "Gay Activists and the Networks", Kathleen Montgomery discusses the process involved in creating a made-for-television movie that featured a gay character in a prominent role. Since the main objective of the movie was to reach as wide an audience as possible, various compromises were necessary:

• the story had to be told within the constraints of a popular television genre: the crime-drama
  
  
• the narrative had to focus on the heterosexual lead character and his interactions with gay characters
  
  
• the movie could not depict any scenes of affection between characters of the same sex

Montgomery concludes that "these requirements served as a filter through which the issue of homosexuality was processed, resulting in a televised picture of gay life designed to be acceptable to the gay community and still palatable to a mass audience."

But in recent years there has been some improvement in the representation of gays and lesbians on mainstream network television. The popularity of shows such as Will & Grace, La vie, la vie… or Queer Eye for the Straight Guy illustrates that networks are willing to feature gay characters, as long as the shows draw high ratings, and generate profits for advertisers.

This profit-motivation means that networks are careful in their portrayals of gay and lesbian characters. While Will & Grace does feature two openly gay male characters, there is little or no discussion about gay relationships or romance. The two gay characters are friends, not lovers, and are rarely shown in romantic situations. The primary relationship for both gay men is with the heterosexual female characters.

In fact, this seems to be an emerging trend. In the past few years, Hollywood has developed a new genre: the gay/straight romance. Television shows such as Will & Grace and films such as My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Object of My Affection, and The Next Best Thing all portray a gay man and straight woman as the "perfect couple." While some critics have suggested that this trend represents an attempt to include gay and lesbian characters, others state that such representations still marginalize and silence the experiences of gays and lesbians.

Though mainstream television and movies continue to "sanitize" the portrayal of gay and lesbian life, specialty and pay-TV channels have begun to show more cutting-edge, controversial and critically acclaimed series about gays and lesbians. In 1999, for instance, Britain's Channel 4 made history when it broadcast a miniseries focusing on the lives and loves of three gay men living in Manchester. The series, called Queer as Folk, was highly rated not only by the gay community but also by the mainstream press.

The series was not without controversy—some people complained that the subject matter was inappropriate and others were upset that one of the characters was only 15 years old. Still others worried that it portrayed gay men as over-sexed. But despite these criticisms, the series also enjoyed international success; it aired on ShowCase, Canada’s specialty channel and it also inspired an American version, which airs on Showtime.

Many people see the success of Queer as Folk as evidence that "lesbigay" shows can still be enormously popular and profitable. However, advertisers and sponsors are cautious about affiliating themselves with such cutting-edge programming. When the American version of Queer as Folk was in production, fashion houses such as Versace, Prada, Polo Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch refused to allow their brands to appear in the series. And although the show is set in Pittsburgh, the marketing director of the Pittsburgh Steelers wrote a letter to the producers demanding that all references to the team be removed.