Only two years after launching its operations, Dr. Phil McGraw-backed Merit Street Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas on Wednesday.
Merit Street has hired Sidley Austin lawyers Thomas Califano, Jeri Miller, Parker Embry and Chelsea McManusas its lead legal advisors.
The case has been assigned to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Everett in Dallas.
The Chapter 11 filing includes an adversarial complaint against Trinity Broadcasting, a business partner in Merit and a 28 percent shareholder in Merit Street, for breach of contract. The Dallas Morning News has additional coverage of the Merit Street bankruptcy, which can be found here.
The Merit Street bankruptcy filing cites more than 200 creditors and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. The top creditors include DirecTV ($1.68 million), DISH Network ($900,000), Wichita Falls-based Peteski Productions ($700,000), Farmers Branch-based KTXD-TV ($675,000) and Irving-based Nexstar DigiNet ($166,668).
Merit Street has also hired Triple P Securities as its financial advisor.
The case is In re Merit Street Media, Inc., No. 25-80156.