Bold move as linear cable TV subscriptions continue to decline
In a mind-boggling move, Dr. Phil McGraw announced Monday he is launching a new network. But instead of taking the streaming route, McGraw is launching Merit Street Media via traditional cable TV. Yes, you heard it right in the Year Of Our Lord 2023 – a new linear cable network from scratch in February 2024.
The new network plans to feature news and entertainment programming; its anchor is Dr. Phil Primetime. Premiering on February 26 at 7 p.m. local time in primetime of course, the show is expected to follow the format of his former CBS Media Ventures talk show, ending last May after 21 seasons after his contract expired whose reruns landed at Nexstar independent WGN-TV last September. Anchored and hosted by McGraw, Primetime plans to offer advice to guests and viewers, plus interviews with newsmakers.
“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,” McGraw in a statement. “American families and our core values are under attack. I love this country, and I believe family is the backbone of our society. Together we are going to stand strong and fight for the very soul and sanity of America and get things that matter back on track.”
“Let me be clear; this is not just my show; it’s our show, said McGraw would go on to say. “This is not just my network; it’s our network. I renew my commitment to you that I am dedicating my platform to what you want and need to see and hear. Nothing is off limits. If it matters to you, it matters to us.” (You can read his entire statement in a letter to viewers here.) During the last few years of his show, McGraw often featured guests who were notably right-leaning.
The new state-of-art Merit Street studios are being built on five acres of land in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where McGraw’s main residence is (Dr. Phil was shot at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles throughout its entire run.) Many staffers who worked on his show are relocating to the Metroplex, the area Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington, Tex. are commonly referred to.
The full lineup will be announced in a few months and feature daily original programming, with live news broadcasts “that will bring fact-based truth and transparency”, according to Merit. No carriage agreements were announced; it is also not known if the new network would offer any direct-to-consumer or streaming plan of sorts.
The Chief Operating Officer named for Merit is a name familiar to Chicago media watchers – Joel Cheatwood, who as vice president of news and promotion at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in 1997 brought Jerry Springer on as commentator during the station’s 10 p.m. newscast, leading main anchors Ron Magers and Carol Marin to resign in protest. Pioneering the tabloid news format at WSVN Miami in 1989 as news director, Cheatwood joined the CBS-owned station group in 1998 as station manager for KYW-TV Philadelphia, then news director for WCBS-TV New York, and was also executive vice president of news for the station group. Cheatwood later landed various roles for CNN, Fox News, and The Blaze.
Launching a new cable network is no easy feat these days – especially as linear TV is declining amid cord-cutting as more viewers are shifting to streaming. Announced in 2008, the last successful cable network debut was Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network in 2011 under Discovery Communications (Dr. Phil was spun off from Oprah in 2002) and came at a different time in television than today, it is certainly more economical to launch a streaming network or FAST channel, and partnering with someone as Merit is going at it alone.
This new effort is starting from scratch, and unless it offers some kind of separate direct-to-consumer-option or strikes a deal with a vMVPD such as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV, Merit Street looks dead on arrival given a venture like this is going to lose tons of money outright amid constant shifts in television viewing – something McGraw and his team should have researched.