Behind Dr. Phil's Media Flameout
In its lawsuit, Merit Street says Trinity Broadcasting — known for its Christian programming, and with a distribution network that reaches about 65 million homes in the U.S. — forced its network, Merit TV, into expensive third-party distribution deals rather than using Trinity's own network of local stations and provided 'shoddy production services' for Merit TV's programs, among other issues. McGraw's own Peteski Productions gave Merit Street a bridge loan to cover some ongoing operations, but Merit Street's precarious finances made securing outside infusions of capital impossible, leading to the bankruptcy filing.
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Several attempts to reach Trinity Broadcasting for comment were unsuccessful.
Prior to the bankruptcy filing, however, there were a number of indicators that Merit TV was undergoing a rocky start to its life — even putting aside the questionable notion of launching a linear TV venture in a time when streaming is the default option for the largest share of viewers. And even the linear TV part of Merit Street's offering (which also includes a FAST channel and mobile app) wasn't fully locked down: The channel is available over the air (though often on digital subchannels) in most major markets and is available on some — but hardly all — cable and satellite providers. Comcast's Xfinity service, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV don't carry it.
On the programming front, McGraw's Dr. Phil Primetime is the flagship show for Merit TV, but it also featured a morning and evening newscast and a handful of original shows, including ones hosted by Nancy Grace and former Bachelor host Chris Harrison. Merit Street also announced a deal with the Professional Bull Riders tour to carry its events, which kicked off in July 2024. By October, however, PBR had pulled its programming from Merit TV, saying the network had yet to pay rights fees. The two sides are in arbitration over the dispute. (PBR moved on to sign a rights deal with Fox Nation, the Fox News streaming platform.)
More recently, the evening newscast was scrapped in favor of a morning show and live hourly updates during other parts of the day. Following the bankruptcy filing, all shows — including Dr. Phil Primetime — have stopped production, leaving Merit TV as something of a zombie channel. Reruns of McGraw's various programs and a few infomercials fill the day. The last available morning newscast on the Merit TV app is from July 1.
On the digital side, Merit TV's YouTube channel has fewer than 90,000 subscribers, and while a handful of videos there have tallied a million or more views (based on YouTube's 30-second qualifier), the biggest one from the last three months has just 40,000.
Merit TV also made headlines — not particularly positive ones — for McGraw's embedding with ICE agents on raids in the early days of Donald Trump's second presidential administration. In the segments aired on Merit TV, 'border czar' Tom Homan states that that the raids showcased problems with so-called sanctuary cities, which McGraw (and Merit's newscasters) seemingly take at face value. McGraw also interviewed Trump several times during the 2024 campaign.
Merit TV never reached a wide audience — in primetime, it averaged a paltry 27,000 viewers in 2024, ranking 130th among broadcast and cable outlets. The company touted its January performance (albeit without any detailed numbers), noting that Merit TV moved up to 65th place for the month. That would have meant an average audience in the low six figures, based on 2024 data, and was also the peak for Merit TV: By the second quarter of 2025, its audience dipped to just 17,000 primetime viewers.
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