A fledgling media firm launched by famed TV discuss present host Dr. Phil McGraw canned a couple of third of its 100-person workers, in keeping with a report.
Merit Street Media, founded by McGraw earlier this year, accomplished a culling Monday that included fewer than 40 folks, primarily within the morning and night information departments, sources accustomed to the layoffs told Bloomberg.
The Fort Value, Texas-based firm rebooted McGraw’s daytime gabfest, “Dr. Phil Primetime” which airs on the Benefit Avenue TV community.
“Following the temporary summer season hiatus of ‘Dr. Phil Primetime,’ Benefit Avenue carried out ongoing consolidations of departments and roles in efforts to realize efficiencies on the highest degree, which sadly resulted in some layoffs,” the media firm mentioned in an announcement.
Newer hires didn’t obtain severance, sources instructed Bloomberg.
Benefit didn’t return a request for remark.
“These layoffs got here as an entire shock to everybody on the workers,” one employee told Mediaite.
“Some folks uprooted their whole lives to maneuver right here for this job with out a security web and now the rug has been pulled out from underneath them.”
McGraw, who gained prominence as a daily visitor on Oprah Winfrey’s discuss present, ended his 21-year run on daytime TV early final 12 months.
He introduced his return to the airwaves with “Dr. Phil Primetime” final November on the newly branded community.
“I selected ‘Benefit’ to honor the meritocracy upon which our superb nation was constructed, and ‘Avenue’ to symbolize ‘Predominant Avenue’ America,” McGraw mentioned in February in an announcement.
The community launched by way of a partnership with Trinity Broadcasting Community, a self-proclaimed Christian TV group that reaches 80 million houses, in keeping with its web site.
Like his unique present – throughout which “Dr. Phil” spoke with rule-breaking teenagers, drug addicts and conspiracy theorists – McGraw tackles attention-grabbing matters on his new present.
In June, he interviewed former President Donald Trump.
