Dr. Phil’s year-old cable network files for bankruptcy, accusing broadcast partner of reneging on obligations

Dr. Phil is seen at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, in September 2015. Noel Vasquez/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

Dr. Phil’s TV network, Merit Street Media, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday and sued Christian television giants Trinity Broadcasting Network and TCT Ministries for allegedly harming its business and contributing to its financial woes.

The lawsuit, filed by Fort Worth-based Merit Street with the US Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas, claims that TBN, the network’s broadcast partner, backed out of its obligations and instead “abused its position as the controlling shareholder.” As a result, Merit Street claims it was forced to “pay or incur obligations to third parties in excess of $100 million.”

“These failures by TBN were neither unintended nor inadvertent,” Merit Street argued in the lawsuit. “They were a conscious, intentional pattern of choices made with full awareness that the consequence of which was to sabotage and seal the fate of a new but already nationally acclaimed network.”

In a statement, a Merit Street spokesperson said the network is suing TBN for “failing to provide clearly agreed-upon national distribution and other significant foundational commitments critical to the network’s continuing success and viability.”

“The suit is part of a restructuring proceeding also initiated by MSM,” the spokesperson said.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration and lawsuit come just over a year after the joint cable venture’s official launch. Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, launched the cable network despite the precarious state of the cable industry, which has seen customers cut the cord in favor of streaming entertainment and digital news platforms. The venture followed the conclusion of Dr. Phil’s 21-season show on CBS in May 2023.

However, according to the lawsuit, Merit Street’s troubles began almost immediately after it was established in January 2023, when Dr. Phil’s Peteski Productions first partnered with TBN, which puts out faith- and worship-based content as the world’s largest Christian network.

Under the venture, the Christian television company was expected to cover distribution and production services at no cost to Merit Street, according to the suit. TBN was also expected to make “certain payments” to Peteski, while the Dr. Phil-owned company would provide new programming, including original episodes of the “Dr. Phil” show and prime-time specials, the suit stated.

Instead, the lawsuit alleges that TBN “reneged” on its responsibilities, allegedly abusing its power as the controlling shareholder to “advance its own interests,” as well as those of its chief executive, Matthew Crouch. TBN also allegedly caused CrossSeed — a company with which TBN is closely connected, and whose directors include Crouch and TBN’s chief business officer, Frank Amedia — to loan $25 million to Merit Street. The network then assigned a promissory note to TCT.

TBN and TCT did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Merit Street’s programming has included Dr. Phil’s embed with ICE during immigration crackdowns by officers in Chicago in January and Los Angeles in June. The network also carried Dr. Phil’s August 2024 interview with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Just after launching Merit Street, Dr. Phil told the New York Post he wanted the network to be “a destination network that you can turn on in the morning and leave on.”

Merit Street is now seeking damages and the cost of its legal fees and costs.