Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is relaunching his national media brand as Envoy Media, which will operate a national TV channel and podcasts among other forms of content, representatives told The Desk on Monday.
The cornerstone of Envoy will be a new app where McGraw’s daily podcasts and talk show programs will be distributed alongside citizen-produced news content from underrepresented communities.
Comedian Steve Harvey will produce original content for the venture, and repeats of his former syndicated talk show “Steve” will air on the national TV channel, the company said.
“As always, my commitment and that of the Envoy network team is to focus on real people, facing real challenges, seeking real solutions,” said McGraw. “By talking about things that matter to people who care, presenting facts, encouraging people to think critically, they can make up their own minds. Our disruptive technology will engage Envoy viewers at an unprecedented level in real time.”
As described, Envoy sounds extremely similar to Merit Street Media, the company McGraw launched two years ago and which declared bankruptcy earlier this month. Trinity Broadcasting was a majority owner of Merit Street when it initially launched and provided production facilities for the venture. The two sides are currently engaged in a legal dispute over the equity stake and how Merit Street operated under Trinity’s majority ownership.
McGraw said his interests in forming a national media brand came at the urging of his wife, who suggested he launch his own company after becoming disenfranchised with the way political and social news was reported by cable news channels.
During a presentation at the IAB NewFronts earlier this year, McGraw said Merit Street hoped to appeal to Americans in “flyover states” — the middle of the country that is often overlooked by larger, more mainstream news operations and media companies.
“What people are focused on in this world today is pretty divisive,” McGraw said. “(But), you cannot remain silent, just so others can remain comfortable. And we’re owning the debate lane at Merit TV. We’re letting all sides come and talk about what they want to talk about, and we’re appealing to the heartland of America.”
McGraw claimed Merit Street Media’s television channel reached more than 300 million Americans through broadcast TV, cable platforms and free, ad-supported streaming TV services. Nielsen ratings for Merit TV’s most-popular programming showed it pulled in an average audience of just a few thousand viewers per day, even as the channel made national headlines for interviewing polarizing political figures like former Representative George Santos, New York Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump, and for going on ride-alongs with officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement during law enforcement raids.
