Dr. Phil McGraw’s Fort Worth-based TV network, Merit Street Media, has filed for bankruptcy a little over a year after its first broadcast and sued its business partner, Trinity Broadcasting Network.
The lawsuit alleges that Trinity “sabotaged” Merit Street through its "conscious and knowing choice to cause Merit Street to lose its national distribution by withholding payments.”
Merit Street claims that it was forced to take on more than $100 million in payments or obligations to others as a result of its partnership with Trinity.
In April Merit Street announced that it hired a new president and CEO. In June it laid off 40 employees, and put one of its anchor programs, Dr. Phil Primetime, on hiatus.
But problems began much earlier, according to the filing.
Merit Street described TBN’s production services as “comically dysfunctional.” It cited teleprompter blackouts, malfunctioning monitors and faulty touch screens used for video editing as a few examples of Trinity’s broken promises.
“These glaring problems became apparent as soon as rehearsals for Dr. Phil Primetime began in early 2024,” the complaint stated. “On a daily basis, Merit Street raised the issues with TBN. The reply was always the same: in effect, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll handle it.’ But TBN did not handle it.”
In November of 2024, Merit Street Media’s broadcasting agreement with Professional Bull Riders soured.
What was supposed to be a 4-year partnership ended after less than one year, when PBR announced it was leaving the network in a social media post that alleged Merit Street failed to make payments outlined in its contract.
In August 2024, the company laid off 38 employees, less than a year into its existence.
McGraw has North Texas roots. The celebrity psychologist got his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of North Texas in 1979.
He became a national figure after recurring appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and later landed his own daytime program.
McGraw created his new network and brought it to Texas after his national daytime TV show Dr. Phil ended after 21 seasons.
Neither Merit Street Media nor Trinity Broadcasting Network responded to requests for comment prior to publication.
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