was a daytime TV staple for more than two decades.
From his studio in Hollywood, Phil McGraw would dispense a particular brand of tough love and life advice 鈥� often to folks who found themselves in desperate or outrageous situations.
Dr. Phil is a trained psychologist, although his license to practice expired in 2006. He got with Oprah Winfrey, and eventually got his own show, which finished its run in 2023.
Dr. Phil鈥檚 not done though. He鈥檚 launching not just a new program, but in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
, business reporter for the Dallas Morning News, visited the new studios to learn more about McGraw鈥檚 Texas television venture. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: You got a chance to interview Dr. Phil and visit the studios of this new network in Texas. Can you describe what this new venture is?
Irving Mejia-Hilario: So it鈥檚 like you mentioned, he鈥檚 not just launching a television program. He鈥檚 launching a whole new network right out of Fort Worth.
I guess the bigger thing here really is like, what is the the goal behind this? And if you鈥檙e going to take McGraw at his word, this is all about launching a 24/7 network that is down the middle and gives you the facts, and nothing but that.
Now that is sort of up to your listener鈥檚 opinions, right?
He鈥檚 got Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian network, backing this thing. He鈥檚 got Joel Cheatwood. He used to work at Fox News and TheBlaze.
And then also, it鈥檚 pretty tough for networks to be down the middle. So tough to say exactly what the goal is beyond what McGraw has told us, but at the very least, we know he鈥檚 trying to make an impact here in the media landscape.
In terms of programing, like you said, Dr. Phil is going to have a show in primetime. Nancy Grace is also set to have a show. But they鈥檙e going to do journalism, as well, and produce newscasts. Did you get any indication about whether there will be a particular political lean to the coverage?
So it is important to note, right, that what Dr. Phil told me about this whole network is that it鈥檚 going to be built all around his value system. So a lot of this is being sold, I think, on sort of that Dr. Phil branding.
But I think your question sort of relates to, you know, what鈥檚 actually going to be shown. And I did ask him about, you know, how are you going to play into all this stuff? To which he pretty much told me, 鈥渓isten, I brought in Joel Cheatwood because鈥︹�� 鈥� I think what he told me specifically was 鈥� 鈥渉e鈥檚 a savant when it comes to news, and I don鈥檛 want to tell him what to do with that stuff.鈥� So McGraw is going to be pretty much, I guess, out of this with the news.
Now, it鈥檚 funny enough, I think something that is interesting, though, that he did tell me, is that he doesn鈥檛 want this to be a siloed sort of program or network. You know, the news is going to be shot like right next door to where Dr. Phil prime time is shot 鈥� literally like a few steps away.
So if the news has a breaking story or something, they can go to him and say, 鈥渙h, we got the story,鈥� you know, 鈥済o and cover it.鈥� You know, then Dr. Phil goes into more detail and then, vice versa, Doctor Phil鈥檚 got this thing, maybe the late night news covers it. Stuff like that.
Doctor Phil has some personal roots in North Texas, but he had a whole TV operation already set up in Hollywood. Why go to the trouble of moving all that from California to Texas?
I think it鈥檚 pretty easy, right? Like, I think we鈥檝e been watching Texas the past couple of months as business reporters and seeing that the workforce here is steady and that there鈥檚 a lot of people to hire. That鈥檚 a big thing behind this network, is hiring Texas talent. We at first thought that he had brought over a lot of people from Hollywood, but he wants to hire people from Texas.
Not to add the fact to, you know, why move to Texas? Guy was here, over at UNT. Has, I think, a psychology degree and an undergraduate over there. So he鈥檚 got already experience in this area.
Not down the fact, too, there鈥檚 land of plenty out here, you know, in terms of, like, where to build a media empire. And Fort Worth certainly ain鈥檛 a bad place to start with 鈥� how big the market is out here.
Well, you you mentioned a little bit about this at the start of our conversation. But in terms of how people are going to be able to see this, how is it going to be broadcast?
Well, it鈥檚 going to be a network, you know, so go and talk to your cable provider. It鈥檒l come out on Feb. 27. That鈥檚 pretty much the easiest way right now to go and get it.
Now, as far as I have seen, there isn鈥檛 a way to already access it just yet. You鈥檙e not going to get like any sort of material if you go and call your cable provider just yet, but they said that in the coming weeks or so, they should have more news about how exactly you鈥檒l be able to get Merit Street Media.
I have a hard time thinking McGraw needs to make a whole lot more money. Why do this? What seems to be the motivation?
So I think anybody that鈥檚 been keeping up with McGraw knows that he鈥檚 been, I think, a little bit more politically outspoken. I think in recent years he鈥檚 talked about his opinions about Donald Trump, of which are not positive. And he鈥檚 talked about his opinions on what鈥檚 going on between Israel and Palestine, you know, on his Instagram. Guy is already politically outspoken, right? And I think he wants to play a role in politics.
Important to note, though, he does not want to make any sort of political run. I asked him directly, and he said that he has no interest in that because he鈥檚 got a lot more freedom from the outside than he does from the inside trying to make some sort of difference.
So my belief, personally, is that I think he does want to be, to an extent, a political player. After all, you don鈥檛 launch two-hour news programs also while launching a network without having some sort of ambition to become a player in politics or media or something.
How far he wants to go, I think is still left to be seen. But I think there鈥檚 some ambition here to do something politically or to be some sort of influence.
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