Miranda Lambert pledges support to Texas via her animal foundation
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dr. Phil's Bankrupt Media Company Sued Over $500 Million TV Deal
The bankruptcy of Dr. Phil's Merit Street Media has taken another turn, with its distribution partner suing the company for fraud and breach of contract. In a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court on Tuesday, Trinity Broadcasting accuses Dr. Phil, whose surname is McGraw, of swindling the Christian TV network under a $500 million, 10-year deal in which he allegedly failed to deliver a single episode of his flagship talk show. More from The Hollywood Reporter Dr. Phil Returns: Launches Envoy Media Co. in Comeback Bid Phil McGraw's Merit Street Media Files for Bankruptcy, Sues Distribution Partner Trinity Broadcasting Dr. Phil's Media Company Merit TV Hires New CEO (Exclusive) In a statement, a spokesperson for McGraw said 214 new episodes of Dr. Phil Primetime aired on Merit. 'To say otherwise is absolutely false,' he added. McGraw's Merit Street Media is simultaneously in bankruptcy court and suing Trinity Broadcasting for breach of contract over its downfall. The court has called the dispute anything but 'routine,' mainly because McGraw conditioned a loan to Merit Street on the company winning its lawsuit against the network. Merit Street claimed Trinity Broadcasting didn't live up to the terms of their joint venture, specifically by failing to secure national distribution. Shortly after the launch of its TV arm, the network 'began to abuse its power as a controlling shareholder' and forced it to enter into a series of expensive distribution deals rather than through its own network of local TV stations; engaged in self-dealing by leasing TBN studios space to produce McGraw's shows; and provided 'shoddy production services,' Merit Street alleged. In its lawsuit, Trinity Broadcasting, which at one point owned 70 percent of Merit Street, offers a different version of events. It says McGraw approached the company in 2022 as he was looking for a network to replace CBS as a production and distribution partner for his show, making certain representations regarding the financial success and ongoing popularity of his syndicated series. Chief among them: a 40 percent cut in the $68 million per year cost to make Dr. Phil by moving all production to Texas and terminating all unionized employees. McGraw also said that he owned the rights the series, that CBS sold out advertising inventory for the show and that he would create new, 90-minute episodes. In negotiations, McGraw told Trinity Broadcasting that it must sign a deal with his production banner Peteski and pay him $20 million as a gesture of good faith, or he'd accept an offer from CBS to pay him $75 million annually. Anything less, he claimed, would be a 'deal killer,' the lawsuit says. Under a purported $500 million, 10-year agreement, Trinity Broadcasting would provide production and distribution services to Merit Street and Peteski, in turn, would provide new content, including 160 new episodes, according to the complaint. The relationship turned sour last year when it became clear that McGraw couldn't deliver the viewership numbers, product integrations and advertising revenues he promised to Trinity Broadcasting, the company alleges. It says it spent more than $100 million by the end of June, some of which had to recorded as loans to Merit Street. That figure ballooned as Trinity Broadcasting continued to funnel up to $13 million into the production per month while McGraw failed to make a single episode, the lawsuit claims. At the same time, McGraw hired dozens of employees from Dr. Phil despite agreeing to slash production costs by terminating all ununionized employees and hiring local workers. He also refused to hand over old episodes of his talk show to Merit Street and make a $9 million payment for Peteski's 30 percent interest in the company. 'Instead, McGraw brazenly demanded that TBN pay him $100 million to obtain a 50 percent interest in the media library,' states the complaint, which notes that he insisted that Merit Street enter into lucrative distribution deals with friends Steve Harvey, Nancy Grace (Cops) and Chris Harrison (The Bachelor). When Trinity Broadcasting told McGraw that the funding would end, he urged the network to hand over ownership control of Merit Street in order to secure lucrative investments at a $425 million valuation. Relying on that representation, Trinity Broadcasting increased Peteski's share in Merit Street to 70 percent while diluting its stake to 30 percent for nothing. Once the deal was finalized, McGraw described the plan as a 'gangster move' to reduce the network to nothing more than a 'passive minority investor,' the lawsuit alleges. Trinity Broadcasting says it learned of Merit Street's Chapter 11 filing in July, which allegedly wasn't approved by its members on the board of directors. It accuses McGraw of plundering the company and plotting to pull the license for Dr. Phil for use at Envoy, his new venture. The lawsuit advances several claims for fraud and breach of contract. It seeks a court order of both companies' rights and obligations under their deal, as well as a ruling that McGraw agreed to hand over his library of old episodes of Dr. Phil as part of Peteski's consideration for receiving a 30 percent stake in Merit Street. 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USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Texas QB Arch Manning facing high expectations and ills of elite talent and family name
If you think you're already tired of all things Arch Manning, imagine actually being Arch Manning. Just do normal, man. Play football, go to class, hang out on Fifth Street. The next thing you know, grandpa has the next two years of your life mapped out, and he's using the Texas Monthly magazine bullhorn so the planet knows it. It's bad enough that Arch has to deal with expectations of (in this order) an unbeaten season, an SEC championship, a Heisman Trophy, a national title, and the first pick in the NFL draft — or bust. PATH TO PLAYOFF: Sign up for our college football newsletter It's bad enough that one uncle is an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, and another uncle is on his way to Canton. And that's all Arch has to live up to. It's worse that grandpa, of all people – Archie Manning, the first true college football megastar of decades gone by and a fantastic NFL star who played on some truly lousy New Orleans Saints teams – joined Team Expectation and Speculation in July to declare Arch will spend two more years at Texas before leaving for the NFL. Book it. Only there's one teeny-weeny problem: Arch is only worried about the here and now. 'I don't know where he got that from,' Manning said Monday, in his first meeting with the media since last month's SEC media days. 'He texted me to apologize about that.' Let me be the first to apologize to Arch for all of this nonsense. For the hype and the hyperbole, for Las Vegas and the Heisman odds, for failure is not an option, for putting the horse before winning a road game as an SEC starting quarterback. You know, that used to be a big deal. To be fair to Manning, he doesn't want this circus. He said in July that he doesn't deserve any of it. He can't control what a talk radio host in Miami says anymore than a television bobblehead in Los Angeles. He knows Finebaum is chumming the waters, and the SEC Network is looking for the next soundbite, and everyone – I mean, everyone – is just waiting for him to fail. Because that's what we've become in this twisted wash machine of gotta have it, gotta get it. Build 'em up, tear 'em down. He just probably never expected grandpa to join the party. No one needs the season to begin quicker than Manning, whose first test out of the gate next week is on the road against defending national champion Ohio State. And that may as well be a welcome respite from this offseason of buffoonery. Let's not forget that Arch purposely avoided any connection to the past when, as the nation's No.1 quarterback recruit, he chose a different college path. Avoid the spotlight, embrace the normal. Didn't go to Ole Miss (where Archie and uncle Eli Manning played) or Tennessee (Peyton Manning), and didn't choose Alabama or Georgia and their recent history of college football domination. Manning chose the one school where he'd blend in like any other student on an urban campus, and where he could lift a program back to championship glory. Texas hasn't won a national title since Mack Brown's team shocked Southern California in 2005. That's 20 long years for the hardcore Burnt Orange, two excruciatingly painful decades of underachieving ugly. Texas has changed everything – coaches, athletic directors, presidents, conferences – in those 20 years, and nothing has worked. Now it has a genuine difference-maker at quarterback for the first time since Colt McCoy got the Longhorns back to the national title game in 2009, but was knocked out of the game on the first drive. That eventual loss to Alabama still haunts Brown, who swears Texas had the better team and the perfect game plan to beat the Tide. MONEY GRAB: With Michigan sanctions, NCAA sells what's left of soul Now here we are in 2025, and the entire college football world hangs on all things Arch. We can't get enough of it. Some because of tantalizing thoughts of what could be with all of that talent, and others just waiting for him to throw two picks in a loss to Ohio State. Because I told you so is such an attractive look. Here's a novel idea: just let the kid play. Forget about his bloated NIL deals, or his famous last name or that he has started all of two games in two seasons at Texas. If he goes out and beats Ohio State, don't start screaming about multiple Heismans or the first pick in the NFL draft. Stay in the moment and enjoy the ride. Even if Texas gets on a roll, and there's no one stopping the train. Even if Arch looks like all the best parts of Archie, Peyton and Eli. Even if Nick Saban admits at some point this season – during one of ESPN's many GameDay shows featuring Texas – that he'd have stayed at Alabama if he could've signed Arch. Grandpa has already done enough damage. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shaq accepts boxing match with man who 'chopped me in my neck'
Shaquille O'Neal, the former NBA superstar, says he's ready to lace them up. No, not high-top sneakers. Boxing gloves. O'Neal, 53, has accepted a celebrity fight with Charles 'Charlie Mack'' Alston, a former bodyguard for actor Will Smith and a figure in the hip hop industry who has indicated he is in his 50s. In an Instagram video challenging O'Neal to fight, Alston this week explained the two men have a beef dating back to an encounter years ago. 'We were in Dallas doing an autograph signing, and (O'Neal) came and tried to jump in front of the line,' Mack said. 'I chopped him in his neck so he could get back.'' During the interview, Alston sat next to Damon Feldman, CEO of Officially Celebrity Boxing O'Neal accepted the fight in the comments section of Alston's video then posted his own video on Instagram. 'Hey celebrity boxing and Charlie Mack, I accept,'' O'Neal said. 'You name the time and place, I'll be there. Diesel don't run from nobody.'' In the video, the 7-foot-1 Hall of Famer also referred to his beef with Alston. "You chopped me in my neck, Charlie Mack, that's why I talk so funny. Payback time," O'Neal said. 'You name the time and place, I'll be there. Diesel don't run from nobody. … You better check my police record, Charlie Mack." On Tuesday, Mack wrote on his Instagram page, 'So I call Big Fella @shaq out yesterday & he accepted as I knew he would!!!! We've been talking about it way too long, now we MUST get it ON!!!!!!!!'' The latest on Mack's Instagram: the image of a fight-style poster featuring O'Neal and Mack. O'Neal weighed about 325 pounds during his 19-year NBA career. Mack is about 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds, according to a rap song recorded by Will Smith when he was rapping as 'The Fresh Prince.'' 'Me and you, baby, super heavyweight,'' Mack said on the video, adding that he was calling O'Neal 'Sha-knocked out.' That's what you're going to be.'' Official Celebrity Boxing has promoted fights pitting Lamar Odom, the retired NBA All-Star, against Ojani Noa, Jennifer Lopez's first husband and Sabrina Parr, a former track and field athlete and ESPN Radio host, and Jenn Harley, whose relationship with her former boyfriend was a storyline in "Jersey Shore." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shaq accepts celebrity boxing match to settle longtime beef
