Following his triumphant 21 seasons on daytime talk television in 2023, Dr. Phil McGraw decided on a different venture called Merit Street Media. The multi-platform media company founded by Dr. Phil was slated to be available over the air, on cable and satellite, and via streaming platforms.
Based in Dallas’ historic West End, Merit Street Media was set to be another conservative offering for today’s consumer, featuring Dr. Phil Primetime, Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, The Island with Bear Grylls, and other talk shows and true crime programming.
It was destined to shine on OTT and on-air broadcasting and even featured a glorious business partner, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). However, the network never seemed to reach the Holy of Holies, plagued by bad business decisions, and now, it is filing for bankruptcy this summer.
How could a partnership with that guy and that network go bad? If you pay attention to Christian and faith-based stories close to home, this may not surprise you.
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Hey Dr. Phil, “How’s That Working for ‘Ya?“
The new media venture of Dr. Phil enjoyed only nine months of bliss before the aches and financial pangs of reality set in. Several former journalists and editors left the hustle and bustle of Dallas newsrooms for the promise of a charmed southern life, working with Phil McGraw.
In August 2024, Merit Street Media cut over a third of its workforce (38 people) unexpectedly and unceremoniously. The move focused primarily on eliminating its first two original programs, Morning on Merit Street and The News on Merit Street. That was about the same time when TBN “reneged on its obligations and abused its position as the controlling shareholder of Merit Street,” the lawsuit states.
When those mass cuts were announced, along with 40 more who were cut loose last month, TBN was not the focal point of the cuts. Instead, it was a summer hiatus that determined that all those people weren’t necessary.
“Following the brief summer hiatus of Dr. Phil Primetime, Merit Street implemented ongoing consolidations of departments and roles in efforts to achieve efficiencies at the highest level, which unfortunately resulted in some layoffs,” a Merit Street spokesperson said. “We are confidently getting better at what we do. Merit will continue striving to create more synergy between all divisions including staff expanding their roles within our live news, original programming, and sports and music endeavors.”
Regarding the lawsuit, Dr. Phil attests that TBN failed to “live up to its contractual obligations,” which resulted in Merit Street Media incurring over $100 million in debt. One of those alleged abuses included causing Merit Street to “enter into expensive distribution agreements with third parties” that cost upwards of $2.6 million monthly.
The suit, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Dallas, had more rancid allegations against the global Christian network. It was also reported that TBN provided “shoddy production services,” including teleprompters that suffered from “frequent malfunctions, including blackouts during live Dr. Phil episodes before studio audiences,” and a sub-industry standard control room that was “run out of a temporary setup in a truck.”
“Simply put, as a result of TBN’s conduct, Merit Street has nowhere to send its broadcast signal and nowhere to air its programming no matter how great it may be,” the suit stated.
Maybe Dr. Phil was expecting first-class equipment when partnering with TBN? Perhaps McGraw thought the networks own so many TV stations that a shoestring budget for a newcomer in media wouldn’t be the thing. Although the partnership was with TBN, Merit Street Media was not established as a religious network, nor would it feature any of TBN’s staple Christian programming.
It’s not like Oprah ran the network. C’mon! Oh wait…
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