The Dr. Phil–TBN lawsuit is a pair of dueling cases in Texas bankruptcy court over the collapse of Merit Street Media, the joint venture between Phil McGraw’s Peteski Productions and the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Peteski’s Merit Street sued TBN for breach of contract on July 2, 2025, alleging the Christian broadcaster withheld distribution payments and sank the network. TBN countersued in August, accusing McGraw of a “years-long fraudulent scheme” to fleece the nonprofit. A federal bankruptcy judge has since ordered the company liquidated, found that McGraw destroyed evidence, and left the fraud claims unresolved as appeals move forward.
How the Partnership Was Structured
McGraw approached TBN in 2022 looking for a broadcast partner after leaving CBS. On January 10, 2023, Peteski Productions and TBN signed a binding letter of intent for a 10-year arrangement worth up to $500 million. Peteski was to receive $50 million a year to produce 160 new 90-minute episodes of “Dr. Phil” annually. TBN was to provide production services and, critically, nationwide distribution at no cost to the venture using its existing broadcast infrastructure and must-carry rights. TBN took a 70% controlling stake in the new entity, Merit Street Media; Peteski held 30%. TBN also paid Peteski $20 million upfront as a “gesture of good faith.”1Variety. TBN Sues Dr. Phil, Accusing Him of Fraudulent Scheme to Fleece Christian Broadcaster2Deadline. Dr. Phil Countersued by Trinity Broadcasting in Bankruptcy
Merit Street launched on April 2, 2024, anchored by “Dr. Phil Primetime” and reaching more than 65 million U.S. television homes at debut.3TBN. Merit Street Media, TBN’s New Partner Network By the time litigation began, ownership had shifted to roughly 66.5% Peteski, 28.5% TBN, and 5% for Steve Harvey’s SHG Partnership. TBN disputes the legitimacy of the stock amendment that produced those numbers.4Variety. Dr. Phil Response to Bankruptcy, TBN, PBR Inflammatory Attacks on Merit Street
What Merit Street Alleged Against TBN
Merit Street filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on July 2, 2025, and sued TBN the same day.5Deadline. Dr. Phil Merit Street Media JV Bankruptcy, Sues Trinity The company listed assets and liabilities each between $100 million and $500 million and reported more than 200 creditors.6Financier Worldwide. Merit Street Media Files for Chapter 11
The core claim was that TBN deliberately withheld distribution payments it had acknowledged were “100% TBN’s sole responsibility,” costing the network its national carriage.7Variety. Dr. Phil Merit Street Cable TV Bankruptcy TBN Lawsuit Merit Street said TBN also refused to transfer its must-carry rights, leaving the venture with “nowhere to send its broadcast signal and nowhere to air its programming.”5Deadline. Dr. Phil Merit Street Media JV Bankruptcy, Sues Trinity The complaint accused TBN CEO Matthew Crouch of abusing the controlling shareholder position to enrich TBN at Merit Street’s expense.
The suit also called TBN’s production services “comically dysfunctional,” describing teleprompter blackouts, malfunctioning monitors, faulty touch screens, and an incomplete control room that Merit Street said it flagged daily starting in early 2024.8Fort Worth Report. Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Media Files Bankruptcy, Sues Trinity Broadcasting Network Merit Street said TBN’s conduct forced it to take on more than $100 million in third-party obligations and caused $96 million in losses.6Financier Worldwide. Merit Street Media Files for Chapter 11
What TBN Alleged in Its Countersuit
TBN filed its countersuit on August 19, 2025, accusing McGraw and Peteski of a “years-long fraudulent scheme” to “fleece” the nonprofit broadcaster.1Variety. TBN Sues Dr. Phil, Accusing Him of Fraudulent Scheme to Fleece Christian Broadcaster TBN alleged McGraw falsely claimed CBS would pay him $75 million a year to renew his contract, manufacturing urgency to close the deal and collect the $20 million upfront payment.2Deadline. Dr. Phil Countersued by Trinity Broadcasting in Bankruptcy TBN also claimed McGraw promised that moving production from California to Texas would cut costs by at least 40% by eliminating unionized staff, then hired at least 30 unionized employees anyway.
On the programming side, TBN alleged that by June 2024, Peteski had not delivered a single 90-minute episode despite the 160-per-year commitment, and that TBN was funneling up to $13 million a month into operations while McGraw rejected TBN’s library programming and insisted on expensive distribution deals with associates.9The Hollywood Reporter. Dr. Phil Merit Street Sued by Partner for Fraud, Breach of Contract McGraw’s team responded that 214 episodes of “Dr. Phil Primetime” had been produced and called TBN’s allegations “riddled with provable lies.”
TBN cited internal messages in which McGraw allegedly described his plan to reduce TBN to a “passive minority investor” as a “gangster move” and “11th-hour poker.” TBN also alleged that while negotiating a restructuring, McGraw secretly formed a new company, Envoy Media Co., to replace Merit Street and absorb its employees.10Yahoo News Canada. TBN Countersues Dr. Phil, Accusing Him of Fraudulent Scheme The counterclaim seeks unspecified damages, rescission of the Peteski deal and the stock amendment, and reinstatement of Matthew Crouch and board member Samuel Smadja to positions McGraw allegedly removed them from.1Variety. TBN Sues Dr. Phil, Accusing Him of Fraudulent Scheme to Fleece Christian Broadcaster
The Deleted Text and the Court’s Findings
At hearings in September and October 2025, McGraw testified over two days and called TBN’s accusation that he acted as a “thief in the night” as “blasphemous.”11Bloomberg Law. Dr. Phil Calls Christian Broadcaster Allegations Blasphemous The turning point involved a text message. On July 1, 2025, the day before the bankruptcy filing, McGraw texted friend and creditor Jamie Ribman, whose Darcy Lynn Ribman 1997 Trust had invested $5 million in Merit Street via a convertible note, guaranteeing 100% recovery on the Trust’s claim regardless of what the court decided. McGraw then deleted the message. It surfaced only because consultant Phil McIntyre, copied on the thread, still had it on his device.12The Dallas Morning News. Dr. Phil Ordered to Liquidate in Bankruptcy Case With No Hope for Rehabilitation
Judge Scott W. Everett found the deletion was intentional, amounting to destruction of estate property and “bad-faith conduct in the prosecution of this bankruptcy case.” The judge concluded the text showed McGraw intended to “wipe out” TBN’s and PBR’s claims while paying favored creditors like the Ribman Trust.13U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas. Opinion in Merit Street Media Bankruptcy McGraw’s team argued the message was sent in a personal capacity before the filing and that Peteski had produced a copy of the same text sent to another recipient.
Conversion to Chapter 7 Liquidation
On October 28, 2025, Judge Everett ruled from the bench to convert the case from Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation, saying the business was “dead as a doornail” and that “there is no hope for rehabilitation.”12The Dallas Morning News. Dr. Phil Ordered to Liquidate in Bankruptcy Case With No Hope for Rehabilitation He called the case an “anomaly,” noting Merit Street had arrived in court already in “complete liquidation mode” with no genuine reorganization plan.14Variety. Dr. Phil Merit Street Bankruptcy Judge Ruling, Chapter 7 Liquidation
The judge framed his ruling around what he called a “broken three-legged stool.” He found that McGraw had deleted unfavorable evidence and vowed to pay favored creditors regardless of court rulings while intending to wipe out unfavored creditors. He found that Chief Restructuring Officer Gary Broadbent lacked neutrality and was “doing McGraw’s bidding,” working for Envoy Media after the petition date rather than protecting the estate. And he found the Creditors’ Committee compromised because half was composed of the Ribmans, who held a personal payment guarantee from McGraw and were positioned to supervise litigation under the proposed plan.
The formal conversion order was entered on November 18, 2025, and Daniel J. Sherman was appointed Chapter 7 trustee.15Elevenflo. Merit Street Media Bankruptcy
Other Creditors in the Case
TBN was not the only party with grievances. Professional Bull Riders, which signed a media rights deal with Merit Street in 2024, pulled its programming in November 2024 after alleging Merit Street refused to pay contractually guaranteed rights fees. PBR filed a $181 million claim in the bankruptcy and sought to hold McGraw personally responsible; Merit Street countered with its own claims against PBR, including fraud allegations.16The Dallas Morning News. Professional Bull Riders Hit Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Media With $181M Debt Claim A separate adversary complaint targets a $25 million convertible promissory note Merit Street issued in September 2024 to CrossSeed, Inc., whose directors included Matthew Crouch, and later assigned to TCT Ministries. Merit Street alleges the transfer was an avoidable preference because TCT did not perfect its security interest until May 2025, inside the 90-day pre-bankruptcy window.17Variety. Merit Street v. TBN-TCT Adversary Complaint
Where the Case Stands
Peteski Productions announced an “immediate appeal” of the conversion ruling and denied the evidence-destruction findings.14Variety. Dr. Phil Merit Street Bankruptcy Judge Ruling, Chapter 7 Liquidation On November 25, 2025, the U.S. District Court granted an administrative stay of the conversion while the appeal proceeds. As of mid-2026, the appeals remain pending and the case sits in Chapter 7 awaiting appellate resolution.18Elevenflo. Merit Street Media Case Tracker
McGraw has moved on to Envoy Media Co., the successor venture TBN accused him of secretly forming during the Merit Street partnership. Envoy TV launched in October 2025 as a 24/7 network with news, lifestyle, and sports programming, and it secured a long-term distribution deal with Charter Communications that placed the channel on Spectrum TV Select packages across Charter’s 41-state footprint.19Charter Communications. Doctor Phil McGraw’s Envoy Media and Charter Ink Distribution Deal TBN’s counterclaim, and its fraud allegations, remain unresolved as the Chapter 7 trustee administers what is left of Merit Street’s estate.