Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Media cuts about a third of its staff

Just a handful of months after launching, Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media has cut about a third of its staff.

McGraw, who previously headlined the syndicated talker “Dr. Phil” but exited that gig in 2023 to launch Merit Street, had just returned from a summer hiatus for “Dr. Phil Primetime” when the company announced the cuts, which were billed as a way to consolidate departments and make the company more efficient.

All told, less than 40 people lost their jobs out of about 100. Most of the roles were cut from the venture’s morning and evening news departments. 

“We are confidently getting better at what we do. Merit will continue striving to create more synergy between all divisions including staff expanding their roles within our live news, original programming, and sports and music endeavors,” the company said in a statement.

Merit Street runs as a partnership between McGraw and Christian Trinity Broadcasting Network.

It says it reaches 80 million homes and has key distribution deals with DirecTV, Dish, AT&T U-verse and Comcast Xfinity. It is notably missing from most major vMVPD and other streaming platforms such as Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling.

It is also distributed via Merit+, a free streaming offering.

The company does not release ratings data for “Primetime” or its news programs “Mornings on Merit Street” and “The News on Merit Street” and its audiences appear too small to be widely estimated by third-party companies that attempt to gather data on streaming and digital viewership.

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Other programming includes true crime-centered shows, “Steve Harvey,” reality programming and Professional Bull Riders events on weekends.

Merit Street represents a high-profile example of a big name departing traditional legacy media in favor of a direct-to-consumer model.