A network built for people with hearing loss and disabilities

Our Mission

American Abilities is a broadcast, internet and media provider. Our mission is to create and distribute informational and educational programming and material for people with hearing loss and disabilities — and for those associated with them.

Our goal is to become a credible and reliable major media source — not only stimulating awareness of hearing-loss and disability issues, prevention, coping and advocacy, but also promoting good overall medical health and well-being for everyone we reach.

Rochester’s long-running television program of its kind — informing, educating, entertaining, and enlightening viewers since January 2008.

Local television. Digital access.

American Abilities Television Network™ combines a scheduled Rochester television broadcast with online content and on-demand programs about hearing loss, disabilities and wellness. Watch Sundays at 10 AM Eastern on The CW Rochester, WHAM-DT2 / 13.2 — free with an antenna where reception is available, with no cable subscription required.

For sponsors, this means association with an established local television program and a digital presence accessible beyond the broadcast area. Explore our stories here and watch programs on demand. This describes availability, not measured viewership or guaranteed sponsor reach.

The Founder's Story

Richard J. McCollough, M.Ed. is a 35-year veteran of television and radio broadcasting. He has worked at NBC, ABC, CBS and PBS affiliates in Baltimore, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Spartanburg SC and Rochester, NY — and has been honored with 50 industry awards for his work on documentaries and television programs.

In 2002, while leaving WHEC-TV News10 NBC in Rochester, NY, as Chief Meteorologist, Richard J. McCollough, M.Ed. came up with the concept for American Abilities Television Network™. He envisioned using his broadcasting and production experience to create a broadcast and internet service for people with hearing loss and disabilities, while promoting health and wellness. The concept began in 2002; the television program went on the air in January 2008. American Abilities Television Network™ would be to people with hearing loss and disabilities the way CNN and FOX are to news, ESPN is to sports, The Weather Channel is to weather and Nickelodeon is to kids.

The network is based in Rochester, New York — a city with one of the highest concentrations of people with hearing loss in the nation and a longstanding reputation in the deaf and hearing-loss world going back over 160 years. In its years on the air, American Abilities Television Network™ has established itself as a major media source on hearing loss, disabilities and wellness, and developed an alliance with major hospitals, educational institutions, and national and grassroots organizations.