Launch
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.[3]
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".[4] The network would operate an accompanying streaming service known as Merit+.[5] 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".[6] These remarks led media outlets to suggest that Merit Street's content would have a larger focus on McGraw's conservative views.[4][6]
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.[4][7] A number of staff members from the Dr. Phil show relocated to Texas to join the new network.[4] 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".[8]
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.[8] 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.[9]
In February 2024, Nancy Grace joined the network to host a true crime program.[10] In March 2024, Steve Harvey acquired an equity stake in the network, with plans to develop talent and programming for Merit Street.[11] Chris Harrison also joined the network under an overall deal, with plans to produce a show with his wife Lauren Zima, and create and host a reality dating show.[12]
Merit Street launched on April 2, 2024.[13] In August 2024, Merit Street Media laid off approximately 40 employees, representing 30% of its workforce, as part of "ongoing consolidations of departments and roles".[14] Largely attributed to Texas being a right-to-work state, many of the employees were fired without a reason or severance package. Cheatwood announced the network's producers and support staff would collaborate for future programming moving forward.[15][16]
Former Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon serves on the board of Merit Street Media as an advisor; in September 2024, it was reported that he had been fired from Tennis Channel by its owner Sinclair Broadcast Group, deeming that his involvement in Merit Street had become a "growing distraction".[17]
In February 2025, Merit Street Media announced a partnership with Miracle Channel owners MCA Media Group to launch a Canadian version of the channel titled Merit TV Canada.[18]
Bankruptcy
On July 2, 2025, Merit Street Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; the company listed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. It also filed a lawsuit against TBN for breach of contract, accusing the broadcaster of "failing to provide clearly agreed-upon national distribution and other significant foundational commitments", and "[abusing] its power as a controlling shareholder to advance its own interests and those of its CEO Matthew Crouch, while causing Merit Street to assume responsibility of TBN's obligations under the Joint Venture Agreement, and to otherwise enrich itself at Merit Street's expense." At this time, Merit TV suspended the production of first-run programming, with reruns of existing series continuing to air for the time being.[9][19] The network had also failed to gain traction in viewership, with its average prime time audience falling to around 27,000 viewers in 2024, and falling to only 17,000 by the second quarter of 2025.[20] By the end of 2025, according to Variety, Merit TV had a slightly low prime time audience of just 16,000 viewers, landing it among the bottom 15 least-watched television networks in the country, at number 140th out of 153, based on the latest numbers from Nielsen, just above Paramount Skydance
