On October 21, he was pontificating about “Boomer Bashing,” five days after he offered a 10-minute report on why he believed Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas would not keep its word regarding a cease-fire with Israel in Gaza.
Now, Dr. Phil McGraw has been ordered to liquidate all of the assets tied to his Merit Street Media — an abrupt shift to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for the entity that some 20 months ago had high hopes for a prime-time show from a state-of-the-air Dallas broadcast center.
The conversion from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was made Tuesday (10/28) by Judge Everett of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, nearly four months after Merit Street Media sued joint venture partner Trinity Broadcasting of Texas for recovery of money and property.
With attorneys from Sidney Austin LLP representing Merit Street, a Chapter 11 filing came on July 2. The move resulted from substantial financial losses seen since February 2024, when “Dr. Phil Primetime” was poised to attract viewers from his former daytime syndicated television chat show, which concluded in spring 2023. In a message to “viewers, fans and followers,” McGraw shared news of “a significant project that my team and I have been diligently working on.”
It was the forthcoming debut of the prime-time show, airing at 8pm Eastern on Dr. Phil’s Merit TV network, from a to-be-completed five-acre headquarters in North Texas. Show topics were to be fueled by “evidence-based research, science, tried and proven methods — you know — facts!”
With TBN as a partner with McGraw’s Peteski Productions, Merit TV gained distribution via DISH and DirecTV. Comcast Xfinity never added the channel, nor did Optimum or Charter Spectrum. In key markets such as Los Angeles, digital multicast distribution came via KTBN-40.2 as KVMD-31 in the Riverside-San Bernardino area of the Los Angeles DMA signed on as an affiliate. On April 2, 2024, two months after its intended debut date, Merit TV hit the airwaves, with the Ronald Ulloa-owned KVMD a key over-the-air home.
In New York, Merit TV aligned with WMBC-63, with a transmitter atop 1WTC in lower Manhattan. It also enjoyed multichannel distribution in the Mid-Hudson Valley via WTBY-54.2 in Poughkeepsie, a TBN property.
By June 2025, troubles at Merit Street Media led KVMD to end its affiliation with Merit TV, replacing its programming grid with infomercials. Then came Merit Street’s bankruptcy filing, with a concurrent lawsuit against TBN for breach of contract and abuse of control. TBN fired back with its own lawsuit against Merit Street, accusing Dr. Phil himself of fraud and mismanagement.
That was a hefty claim, as McGraw had engineered a reported 10-year, $500 million agreement with TBN, the longtime religious TV broadcaster with properties across the U.S. that would provide production and distribution services in exchange of new content. And, Judge Everett deemed it had merit, moving the bankruptcy status from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 and removing McGraw from any restructuring and emergence. The Merit Street assets will be sold under the direction of a trustee appointed by Everett’s court.
Everett’s decision was based, in part, on evidence indicating McGraw deleted certain text messages that appeared to be incriminating. In particular, McGraw suggested that he would play favorites when it came to negotiating with Merit Street’s creditors. Among those entities is Professional Bull Riders, which seeks $181 million from Merit Street; it ended its partnership with Merit Street in 2024 after PBR said it was not paid for media rights fees.
Furthermore, Everett determined that McGraw’s “business was as dead as a doornail when the bankruptcy was filed.”
That decision was not accepted by Peteski. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Peteski indicated that an appeal of the Chapter 7 determination will proceed.
“We take great exception to the court’s improper assertions regarding the alleged destruction of evidence, which simply did not happen,” the statement said. “We will not let this stand given all that Dr. Phil and Peteski Productions have done to protect Merit Street employees, distributors, and other interested parties and to resolve this unfortunate situation.”
Envoy Media, which McGraw created 24 hours before seeking bankruptcy protection for Merit Street, is not involved.
McGraw first gained notice for self-help seminars, in the 1980s, before becoming a trial consultant. In 1995, Oprah Winfrey hired McGraw to help her prepare for a trial involving beef. Three years later, she won the case. As a thank-you gesture, McGraw was invited to appear on Winfrey’s syndicated talk show. A star was born, as McGraw began appearing as a weekly guest focusing on relationship and life strategy, starting in April 1998.
Peteski Productions was then formed in fall 2002 to launch Dr. Phil, McGraw’s own syndicated talk program that saw Winfrey’s Harpo Studios serve as producer. By 2018, Dr. Phil dominated the syndication arena in the U.S. until ending its run on May 25, 2023.
