Layoffs Hit Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media

Merit Street Media laid off almost a third of its employees on Friday. The move comes four months after the launch of Dr. Phil McGraw’s news and entertainment TV network, which partners with the Christian-based Trinity Broadcasting cable network as its main distribution channel. This has allowed the brand to reach over 65 million homes via DirecTV, Dish, and other cable and satellite systems.

Almost 40 employees were impacted by the cuts, bringing the company’s headcount down to about 100—a roughly 30% reduction. As these were recent hires, the laid-off workers did not qualify for severance packages.

A Merit Street spokesperson commented on the situation, stating, “Following the brief summer hiatus of Dr. Phil Primetime, Merit Street implemented ongoing consolidations of departments and roles to achieve greater efficiency. Unfortunately, this resulted in some layoffs. We are confidently getting better at what we do and 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.”

Sources indicate that, with these consolidations, the Fort Worth, TX-based Merit Street plans to create a singular editorial and production group to service all of its content needs.

The layoffs, first reported by Mediate, come at a difficult time for the cable industry, with major media companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount taking significant write-offs tied to their linear TV assets last week.

Merit Street, available across cable, satellite, and free over-the-air broadcast, was announced in November. The network is anchored by the nightly program Dr. Phil Primetime. Its lineup includes daily live programs Morning On Merit Street and The News On Merit Street, the weekly Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and the daily Steve Harvey. Recently, the network also picked up the AMC Honors.

Source: Mediate