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   From: fucktrump2025a@sacbee.con   
      
   TBN Countersues Dr. Phil, Accusing Him of ‘Years-Long Fraudulent Scheme’ to   
   ‘Fleece’ Christian Broadcaster Under $500 Million Pact   
      
      
      
      
   Dr Phil McGraw   
   Getty Images   
      
   Trinity Broadcasting Network, former business partner of Dr. Phil’s now-   
   bankrupt Merit Street Media, filed a counterclaim against the TV   
   personality — alleging he engaged in a scheme to “fleece” the Christian   
   broadcasting company and “enrich” himself and “his associates and   
   affiliates.”   
      
   Merit Street Media, formed as a joint venture between TBN and Phil McGraw’s   
   Peteski Productions, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 2,   
   2025. Concurrently, Merit Street sued TBN, alleging breach of contract and   
   claiming it “abused its position as the controlling shareholder.”   
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   TBN, in its countersuit filed Tuesday (Aug. 19) in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in   
   the Northern District of Texas, named as defendants McGraw and Peteski,   
   which is the proposed debtor-in-possession lender of Merit. Trinity   
   Broadcasting accused McGraw and Peteski of fraudulent inducement and breach   
   of contract. A copy of the complaint is at this link.   
      
   “The response to TBN legitimately and lawfully defending itself from   
   Peteski and McGraw’s bad-faith attacks is to cry foul because they do not   
   like the true facts that they themselves now regretfully put at issue   
   before this Court, revealing McGraw’s true illicit intent and wrongful   
   conduct which he self-described as a ‘gangster move’ and as ‘11th-hour   
   poker,’” Trinity said in the complaint.   
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   SEE ALSO: Dr. Phil Fires Back at His Bankrupt Company’s Legal Foes,   
   Accusing TBN and PBR of ‘Inflammatory and Damaging’ Attacks Aimed at   
   Depressing Value of Merit Street   
      
   TBN said Peteski and McGraw engaged in a “years-long fraudulent scheme that   
   they developed and executed to fleece TBN, a not-for-profit corporation, to   
   enrich McGraw, his associates and affiliates. TBN is confident that the   
   truth will set it free, and result in Peteski and McGraw being held   
   accountable for their reprehensible conduct.”   
      
   A rep for McGraw’s Peteski Productions said in a statement to Variety,   
   “TBN’s latest lawsuit is riddled with provable lies, and is part of a   
   lawfare litigation strategy designed to distract people so no one notices   
   when TBN ultimately is held accountable for walking away from its   
   commitments here. Among other things, they claim we didn’t create any   
   episodes. A simple check of IMDb tells the real story — we created more   
   than 200 episodes. People lost their jobs and Peteski Productions has   
   incurred millions of dollars of losses because of TBN’s bad behavior. We   
   will continue to fight for justice in this case.”   
      
   According to TBN, in 2022, McGraw sought to strike a deal with Trinity as a   
   potential network to replace CBS as a producing and distribution partner   
   for the “Dr. Phil Show.”   
      
   “McGraw specifically represented to TBN that he wanted to change networks   
   because of what he perceived to be CBS’s censorship of the content aired on   
   the ‘Dr. Phil Show,'” TBN’s complaint said. “As McGraw put it, ‘I don’t   
   want snot-nose lawyers telling me what I can and can’t say on TV.’”   
      
   On Jan. 10, 2023, TBN entered into a binding letter of intent with Peteski   
   to create Merit Street Media and paid McGraw’s company $20 million on Jan.   
   12. Under the agreement, Merit Street was owned 70% by TBN and 30% by   
   Peteski.   
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   However, according to TBN, Peteski had misrepresented to Trinity that “CBS   
   was selling out the advertising inventories for the ‘Dr. Phil Show'” and   
   that the new programming McGraw would create for TBN would be 90-minute   
   shows, rather than the then-current 60-minute shows, in order to increase   
   overall ad revenue through the longer show format. Moreover, Peteski told   
   TBN that the then-current $68 million annual production costs for the “Dr.   
   Phil Show” would be reduced by at least 40% by moving all related   
   production activities from California to Texas and not bringing any current   
   personnel associated with show to Texas, as well as “eliminating unionized   
   employees and benefits and reducing overall headcount,” among other cost-   
   saving measures.   
      
   According to TBN’s suit, “even though McGraw had previously represented   
   that he would substantially reduce production costs by eliminating all the   
   high union salaries of the then-existing ‘Dr. Phil Show’ personnel and   
   would use TBN personnel or hire local Texans, McGraw instead caused Merit   
   Street to hire dozens of existing employees from the ‘Dr. Phil Show’ whom   
   he claimed were ‘essential.'” By May 2023, McGraw’s “essential” employees   
   numbered at least 30 individuals, “many of whom were pre-existing union-   
   based employees who were paid California union-based compensation and   
   expected comparable union-type hours and benefits,” the Trinity lawsuit   
   said.   
      
   Per the agreement forming the joint venture, TBN would provide production   
   and distribution services to Merit Street. In return, Peteski was obligated   
   to provide “new content,” including “160 (90 minute) new, topical episodes   
   of the show ‘Dr. Phil’ (the ‘Show’) delivered over 24-27 production weeks,   
   as needed,” according to the TBN complaint. “For that, McGraw (through   
   Peteski) would receive a whopping $50 million per year for ten years — a   
   total of $500 million, if (and only if) Peteski and McGraw performed.”   
      
   By June 2024, however, Peteski and McGraw “had not produced a single 90-   
   minute episode, let alone the 160 episodes required by the [contract], and   
   based on its production schedules, apparently had no intent to produce the   
   ‘new content’ required under the [contract] in the remaining weeks on the   
   production calendar,” the TBN lawsuit alleged. “In an effort to shift blame   
   for their failures to TBN, Peteski and McGraw accused TBN of breaching its   
   obligations under the [contract] and not providing Peteski and McGraw with   
   the resources they needed to produce content for Merit Street.” In   
   addition, McGraw refused to allow Merit Street to air old episodes of the   
   “Dr. Phil Show,” which TBN said it had asked him to do in an effort to   
   “keep programming costs down and capture McGraw’s previous viewer base.”   
      
   Peteski, in filing last week opposing motions made by TBN and Professional   
   Bull Riders — Merit Street’s largest creditor with a $181 million debt   
   claim — disputed TBN’s claim that McGraw failed to produce any of the   
   promised episodes of “Dr. Phil Primetime” under the JV agreement. “The   
      
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