Dr. Phil’s North Texas-based TV network files for bankruptcy, sues its broadcast partner

FORT WORTH, Texas — Dr. Phil’s North Texas-based TV Network Merit Street Media filed for bankruptcy and filed a lawsuit against its broadcast partner, Trinity Broadcasting Network, this week, alleging breach of contract. 

Merit Street’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the lawsuit against Trinity Broadcasting Network, both of which were filed Wednesday, comes less than two years after the network’s launch and shortly after its most recent round of layoffs. 

In the lawsuit, Merit Street accuses Trinity Broadcasting of “sabotage” of the network and a “conscious, intentional pattern of choices” that led to Merit Street’s bankruptcy.

“This lawsuit arises out of a sad, but oft told story: one side lived up to its commitments but the other, the Defendant TBN, did not. Moreover, these failures by TBN were neither unintended nor inadvertent,” Merit Street’s lawsuit reads. “They were a conscious, intentional pattern of choices made with full awareness that the consequences of which would be sabotage and seal the fate of a new but already nationally acclaimed network.”

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges Trinity Broadcasting saddled Merit Street Media with $100 million in debt. 

“TBN formed Merit Street as a joint venture and contractually committed to provide valuable services to the joint venture. But TBN then reneged on its obligations and abused its position as the controlling shareholder of Merit Street to improperly and unilaterally burden Merit Street with unsustainable debt,” the lawsuit reads.

Merit Street also alleges Trinity Broadcasting caused it to enter into various distribution agreements with third parties to distribute Dr. Phil content that total $96 million, court documents show. 

According to the bankruptcy filing, Merit Street has assets of between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities in the same range. 

Merit Street Media also lists more than 200 creditors, according to its bankruptcy filing, including DirectTV, which it owes about $1.7 million, and Dish Network, which it owes $900,000, among others. 

The lawsuit seeks damages and attorneys’ fees and court costs, among other things, court documents show.

WFAA has reached out to Merit Street Media and Trinity Broadcasting Network for comment on the bankruptcy filing and lawsuit. 

The filings come after Merit Street Media confirmed in June it had laid off 40 staff members in the second round of layoffs to hit the network since its launch amid a “summer hiatus” of Dr. Phil’s show.  Merit Street had previously laid off about 40 staff members in August of 2024.

Late last year, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) parted ways with Merit Street within months of announcing a partnership for the network to broadcast league events, with PBR alleging Merit Street failed to pay broadcast rights fees owed to the league.