Dr. Phil's Merit Street Media files for bankruptcy, sues Christian TV giant, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN)
- IGMC Staff
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
Dr. Phil McGraw’s Texas-based media company has filed for bankruptcy and filed a breach of contract lawsuit against business partner Trinity Broadcasting Group.
Trinity Broadcasting specializes in Christian programming.
Merit Street Media is a joint venture of McGraw’s production company and Trinity Broadcasting.
At the time of launch, Dr. Phil stated that Merit would be a resource of information and strategies to fight for America, which he alleges was under a "woke" assault.
McGraw agreed to provide Merit Street with new episodes of his "Dr. Phil Show," primetime specials and other content, while Trinity Broadcasting would provide distribution and production services.
However, there were problems from the jump. Months after its launch, Merit laid off about 40 employees.
According to the lawsuit, Merit Street Media blames the Christian broadcaster for the bankruptcy.
It alleges that Trinity Broadcasting improperly and unilaterally burden Merit Street with unsustainable debt.
The complaint states that Merit owes over $100 million to third parties and that Trinity should be responsible.
In addition, Merit alleges that TBN caused it to lose its national distribution by withholding distribution payments.
The lawsuit also alleges that Trinity Broadcasting Network had provided Merit with “shoddy production services,” citing teleprompter malfunctioning, an incomplete control room and a lack of engineers.
Merit Street Media has since gone dark.
Dr. Phil came to cultural awareness through the Oprah Winfrey Show. The "Dr. Phil Show" launched in 2002 with Harpo Productions co-producing the series until 2010. It had been in syndication for many years, before ending in 2023.
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