Dr. Phil’s resolution to name it quits final week got here months after producers tried and did not revamp the long-running CBS daytime present in a determined bid to lure again skittish advertisers.
After years of Dr. Phil McGraw staging dramatic “interventions” with wayward teenagers and squabbling households — and in some instances being accused of exploiting the troubles of celebrities like Britney Spears and Shelley Duvall — CBS insiders have been involved that viewers and advertisers alike have been lumping in Dr. Phil with different “quack doctors” who’ve left TV in recent times, a number of sources informed The New York Post.
Indeed, regardless of the actual fact Dr. Phil averaged greater than 2 million viewers within the 3pm timeslot — the second-highest-rated present in daytime behind ABC’s Live with Ryan and Kelly, in line with Nielsen — the present had grow to be radioactive for a lot of sponsors, in line with sources near the state of affairs.
“The advertising queue was all but dead,” one insider stated. “The show was relying on CBS to book ads as opposed to relying on Dr. Phil’s brand.”
“With that timeslot, you start on home base,” one other supply stated. “But he couldn’t hit any more home runs.”
A decade in the past, prime company manufacturers that backed Dr. Phil included American Express, Allstate and General Mills. But throughout an episode final week, business breaks have been filled with spots for vitamin dietary supplements, private damage regulation companies, public service bulletins on vaccines and quitting smoking — in addition to a number of in-house advertisements for different CBS exhibits.
“There was clearly a cash issue,” one other insider informed The Post. “They have not had advertisers of the past stay on. This includes household consumer brands.”
The present turned to extra substantive matters like “medical gaslighting” moderately than interpersonal drama, in line with a observe obtained by The Post.
One fall episode tackled “Inclusivity or Indoctrination? What’s Happening in Schools Today?,” the place McGraw and a panel of specialists mentioned transgender politics in colleges. Other exhibits this season targeted on arduous news tales like gun violence and anti-Semitic hate crimes.
Nevertheless, bookers for the present have had bother lining up big-name panellists, sources declare.
“Dr. Phil was trying to siphon the credibility from other doctors they’re trying to book as guests … but they’re struggling to get credible guests,” one insider informed The Post.
The Post reached out to CBS for remark. A spokesperson for McGraw declined to remark.
It’s a dramatic flip from just some years in the past, when Dr. Phil’s programming was targeted on serving to troubled teenagers just like the now-famous “cash me outside” woman and serving to girls depart poisonous relationships.
Insiders add that some at CBS consider McGraw’s TV persona had grown uncomfortably near that of one other daytime TV physician — Mehmet Oz, who was working for a US Senate seat on the time of the season launch.
Ratings for Oz — who had run into his personal controversies over pushing various medicines and fad diets — had begun to tank even earlier than his candidacy for the Pennsylvania seat. While McGraw’s scores had dwarfed these of Oz, producers more and more feared that viewers would “lump television doctors together,” in line with a supply.
“There are some people who don’t know the difference between Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil,” the supply stated, including that producers say they really feel strongly there’s “a Dr. Oz dip.”
Dr. Phil’s wholesale rebranding efforts got here after the present final summer time reduce 25 staffers in an effort to “streamline production to ensure longevity.”
A spokesperson for the present stated the lay-offs are “typical … there were some roles we discovered that we could reduce yet still deliver our dynamic, forward-thinking program.”
Last yr, BuzzFeed News reported workers who labored on the present “experienced verbal abuse in a workplace that fosters fear, intimidation, and racism” and have been “manipulated and treated unethically.” The present didn’t deal with these considerations.
Lawyers for McGraw and govt producer Carla Pennington categorically denied the allegations made within the piece, insisting that Dr. Phil under no circumstances fosters racism, inappropriate interactions with visitors, bullying and harassment, or some other unprofessional behaviour.
The present is slated to run by May. CBS Media Ventures, which produces Dr. Phil, will supply stations library episodes of the present for the 2023-2024 season and past. The traditional episodes will embrace new content material comparable to wraparounds and intros by McGraw, in addition to visitor updates.
McGraw — who bought his massive break on Oprah 25 years in the past, charming audiences together with his folksy takes on social points — stated his subsequent chapter will deal with a “strategic prime time partnership” that may “increase his impact on television and viewers.” He didn’t point out issues with advertisers in saying his resolution to go away.
“I am compelled to engage with a broader audience because I have grave concerns for the American family, and I am determined to help restore a clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” McGraw stated.
This article initially appeared within the New York Post and has been reproduced right here with permission
Originally printed as Inside Dr Phil’s failed makes an attempt to rebrand long-running discuss present earlier than cancellation
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
