Merit Street Media, the multiplatform network owned by former daytime talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, has filed for bankruptcy less than two years after its launch. The television and entertainment company filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas. The filing comes just weeks after the struggling company laid off 40 employees in a second wave of job cuts following the dismissal of roughly a third of its staff in August of 2024. Merit Street Media launched in 2023 with ambitions of becoming "one of the most widely distributed startup networks in modern history," according to an announcement at the time. The company's broadcast network, formed in partnership with Christian-based Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), offered a broad lineup of programming featuring popular TV personalities including Nancy Grace, Bear Grylls and Steve Harvey, in addition to McGraw, the face of the network.