Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media is filing for bankruptcy, and is also suing its distribution partner, Trinity Broadcasting, for breach of contract.
Merit Street is less than two years old, having launched in early 2024 with a McGraw-led talk show as its flagship program. In its filing, the company cites a “severely strained liquidity position” and the failure to secure additional outside capital as reasons for the declaration. It also mentions ongoing legal issues with Trinity Broadcasting and the Professional Bull Riders as contributing factors.
In conjunction with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s North Texas Division (Merit Street is based in Fort Worth), Merit Street has sued Trinity for breach of contract, claiming the broadcaster, best known for its Christian programming, failed to live up to the terms of their joint venture.
“Trinity Broadcasting Network is being sued by Merit Street Media for failing to provide clearly agreed-upon national distribution and other significant foundational commitments critical to the network’s continuing success and viability,” a Merit Street spokesperson said in a statement. “The suit is part of a restructuring proceeding also initiated by MSM.”
The Professional Bull Riders organization isn’t named in the suit but is mentioned in the bankruptcy filing. Merit Street bought rights to air PBR events on its Merit TV channel, but the group pulled its programming in November 2024, saying Merit Street had yet to make any rights payments. The two parties are currently in arbitration.
MeritTV has also made headlines for its “behind the scenes” view of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Chicago and Los Angeles this year as Dr. Phil as taken up a role as an unofficial spokesperson for President Trump in advocating for the raids.
McGraw’s Peteski Productions company provided “substantial capital infusions” to Merit Street to help cover expenses, the bankruptcy filing says, but Merit Street couldn’t close a round of equity financing, leading to the Chapter 11 filing.
The lawsuit against Trinity Broadcasting alleges that shortly after Merit TV’s launch, TBN “began to abuse its power as a controlling shareholder” and, among other things, caused Merit Street to enter into expensive distribution deals with third parties rather than through its own network of local TV stations; engaged in self-dealing by leasing TBN studio space to produce McGraw’s shows; and provided “shoddy production services.”
