Daytime TV’s most popular psychologist, Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, teamed up with Fort Worth-based Trinity Broadcasting Network to launch his new television network in 2024, Merit Street Media.
By July of this year, Merit Street had filed for bankruptcy.
And then things really got messy.
On Tuesday afternoon, after a weekslong hearing more than a month ago on a motion to dismiss or to convert Merit Street Media’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Everett converted the case to a Chapter 7 from the bench, according to The Texas Lawbook.
“There is no hope for rehabilitation,” Everett said.
He called the case an anomaly and said it came to him in “liquidation mode.”
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Everett said he had found several reasons to convert the case,which included not trusting the testimony of Chief Reconstructing Officer Gary Broadbent, a missing text Dr. Phil McGraw deleted and the makeup of the unsecured creditors committee.
The newsroom set at Merit Street Media in Fort Worth on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
McGraw’s vision for a different kind of network
Merit Street was not an endeavor that McGraw took on just for the fun of it. He had a vision for a nation caught in a political and cultural schism, he said.
“I think families in America are under attack. Some of it is intentional, and some of it is not. I think some of it is the byproduct of progress,” McGraw told The News in 2024. “I think it has to be dealt with. We have to change with the times and that’s what we’re doing here.”
The move came after he ended a 21-year relationship with CBS Media Ventures in May 2023. McGraw’s own network would be anchored by his new show, Dr. Phil Primetime, and would also feature live news programs, true crime dramas and more.
“I’m making a shift because I want to do something different. I’m really proud of what we did for 21 seasons at CBS, but I want to do something with a broader platform and wider guardrails,” McGraw told The News in 2024. “To do that, I needed more than an hour a day. All of it is based on the value system that I’ve really developed across the last 25 years.”
Photos of Dr. Phil and Oprah in the ‘Dr. Phil museum’ at Merit Street Media in Fort Worth on Tuesday,
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Merit Street was designed to be a 24/7 network, with TBN serving as a distribution partner.
“The idea is for this to be a destination network that you can turn on in the morning and leave on all day long without having to worry about what your kids are going to get exposed to,” McGraw told The News in 2024. “I want this to be a return to family values, common sense and focusing on what makes this country great.”
Despite TBN being a Christian-based broadcasting network, McGraw said he wanted a separation between church and the network, he said.
“We’re partnering with them on this facility, but we won’t have any religious programming. There’s a pretty strong dividing line between us two,” Mcgraw said. “TBN are tremendous supporters of what we’re doing here, and we share a lot of values that give us some compatibility, but I don’t think there’s an overlap, which is a good thing. They got their lane, we got our lane.”
According to The Texas Lawbook, Merit accused Trinity Broadcasting Network and its affiliate TCT Ministries of failing to fulfill their obligations under the 2023 agreement that established Merit Street. Merit alleges Trinity violated the agreement by charging for production services, not covering distribution costs and delivering “shoddy” production work.
Based on court documents, Merit has between $100 million and $500 million in assets but has liabilities in the same range.
Shortly after filing for bankruptcy, McGraw launched Dallas-based ENVOY Media Co., a new media venture that delivers live news, original entertainment and interactive content across traditional and digital platforms.
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