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Merit TV
Merit TV (formerly Merit Street) is an American digital multicast television network and streaming service owned by Merit Street Media, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company founded by Phil McGraw as a joint venture between the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and McGraw's Peteski Productions, with comedian Steve Harvey also holding an equity stake.
At launch, the channel primarily carried news and discussion programming featuring conservative commentary (including Dr. Phil Primetime), true crime programming, and reruns of McGraw and Harvey's former syndicated talk shows Dr. Phil, Steve Harvey, and Steve.
In June 2025 amid low viewership, Merit Street Media filed for bankruptcy and filed a lawsuit against TBN, accusing it of breach of contract and using its ownership stake to enrich itself at Merit Street's expense. At this time, Merit TV suspended its production of original programming, with its schedule consisting solely of reruns.
As of January 2025, the channel is currently available through digital over-the-air television, Samsung TV Plus, and cable and satellite television services.
Phil McGraw had previously hosted the syndicated talk show Dr. Phil with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and CBS Media Ventures. In January 2023, CBS Media Ventures announced that the show would conclude after its 21st season in 2023.
In November 2023, McGraw announced a new Fort Worth, Texas-based production company known as Merit Street Media, and a television venture of the same name that planned to launch in February 2024; McGraw explained that its name was derived from the concept of meritocracy, and "‘Main Street’ America". The network would operate an accompanying streaming service known as Merit+. Its original programming was slated to feature a continuation of his talk show known as Dr. Phil Primetime; McGraw explained that "I absolutely love talking to real people about real problems — people who aren't just complaining but are actively looking for real solutions to better their lives", and spoke of "American families and our core values" being "under attack". These remarks led media outlets to suggest that Merit Street's content would have a larger focus on McGraw's conservative views.
McGraw named Joel Cheatwood—an executive known for pioneering a popular and heavily imitated tabloid news format at WSVN, developing Glenn Beck's talk show for Fox News and overseeing Beck's GBTV/TheBlaze at its inception—as Merit's first chief operating officer. A number of staff members from the Dr. Phil show relocated to Texas to join the new network. The following month, McGraw announced plans for distribution via linear television and streaming platforms, and that he had "commitments already exceeding 65 million television homes".
Among these distribution agreements was a partnership with religious broadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN); despite the TBN agreement, McGraw stated that Merit Street's programming would not be faith-based. The TBN partnership gave the broadcaster a controlling equity stake in Merit Street Media, in exchange for a commitment to provide national distribution and access to production resources for its programming.
Merit TV
Merit TV (formerly Merit Street) is an American digital multicast television network and streaming service owned by Merit Street Media, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company founded by Phil McGraw as a joint venture between the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and McGraw's Peteski Productions, with comedian Steve Harvey also holding an equity stake.
At launch, the channel primarily carried news and discussion programming featuring conservative commentary (including Dr. Phil Primetime), true crime programming, and reruns of McGraw and Harvey's former syndicated talk shows Dr. Phil, Steve Harvey, and Steve.
In June 2025 amid low viewership, Merit Street Media filed for bankruptcy and filed a lawsuit against TBN, accusing it of breach of contract and using its ownership stake to enrich itself at Merit Street's expense. At this time, Merit TV suspended its production of original programming, with its schedule consisting solely of reruns.
As of January 2025, the channel is currently available through digital over-the-air television, Samsung TV Plus, and cable and satellite television services.
Phil McGraw had previously hosted the syndicated talk show Dr. Phil with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and CBS Media Ventures. In January 2023, CBS Media Ventures announced that the show would conclude after its 21st season in 2023.
In November 2023, McGraw announced a new Fort Worth, Texas-based production company known as Merit Street Media, and a television venture of the same name that planned to launch in February 2024; McGraw explained that its name was derived from the concept of meritocracy, and "‘Main Street’ America". The network would operate an accompanying streaming service known as Merit+. Its original programming was slated to feature a continuation of his talk show known as Dr. Phil Primetime; McGraw explained that "I absolutely love talking to real people about real problems — people who aren't just complaining but are actively looking for real solutions to better their lives", and spoke of "American families and our core values" being "under attack". These remarks led media outlets to suggest that Merit Street's content would have a larger focus on McGraw's conservative views.
McGraw named Joel Cheatwood—an executive known for pioneering a popular and heavily imitated tabloid news format at WSVN, developing Glenn Beck's talk show for Fox News and overseeing Beck's GBTV/TheBlaze at its inception—as Merit's first chief operating officer. A number of staff members from the Dr. Phil show relocated to Texas to join the new network. The following month, McGraw announced plans for distribution via linear television and streaming platforms, and that he had "commitments already exceeding 65 million television homes".
Among these distribution agreements was a partnership with religious broadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN); despite the TBN agreement, McGraw stated that Merit Street's programming would not be faith-based. The TBN partnership gave the broadcaster a controlling equity stake in Merit Street Media, in exchange for a commitment to provide national distribution and access to production resources for its programming.