Channeling Good Health

Since graduating, Brian McCourt ’87 has been distinguishing himself as a business savvy communicator across many fronts—television, film, streaming, social media and more.
He helped to underwrite production financing for the cult classic The Blair Witch Project, which earned $250 million globally. He won his first Emmy Award for the bestselling special-interest video in New England history, the Banner Years: The Official History of the Boston Garden, and he has created top content for leading multinational brands such as Novartis, Disney and Hard Rock Café.

In 2018, however, McCourt began using his gift for storytelling to improve the health of others through the creation of Able, the world’s first all healthcare content streaming channel. He did so in response to the medical challenges that come with life, the loss of family and friends and an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis for one of his children.

“Upon hearing that news, I was inundated with dry, difficult information, which was hard to absorb while grappling with the shock and what to do next. As a communicator, I realized there could be a better way of engaging and informing patients and caregivers,” recalls McCourt, a communications major at Stonehill and Able Channel’s founder and CEO.

In particular, he saw a gap in the market for a dedicated healthcare channel that provides “credible medical information, important news and inspiring stories of the human spirit designed to help make people healthier, one story at a time,” especially in an age where more people are watching rather than reading and home care is increasingly the norm.

A passion project for the former Summit and WSHL staffer, Able seeks to serve and support the 133 million Americans, who live with chronic health conditions or disabilities, many of whom have co-morbidities, and their caregivers.

The channel’s “Netflix meets healthcare” approach is evident in the series Surviving Suicide: Stories of Help & Hope, which recently earned Able Channel its first Emmy and McCourt, as executive producer, his second Emmy.  

Every year, approximately 50,000 people die by suicide in America, and there are 1.4 million attempted suicides. Produced in collaboration with medical experts at the Cleveland Clinic, the series highlights the importance of mental health, suicide prevention and providing support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide through powerful, real-life stories.

McCourt says that the Able Channel is “his therapy” for dealing with the setbacks he has faced in life. It’s also a way to continue seeing the humanity in others and what people are able to accomplish even under the toughest circumstances. “Stories of the human spirit are what Able is all about," he notes. 

The ethos of Lux et Spes and being of service to others remains important to McCourt, and it guides the work he is doing with the Able Channel. Furthermore, he says that Stonehill prepared him well for his chosen career.

From Professor Charles Curran, he learned about the significant differences between persuasion and propaganda. In Professor George Branigan’s Schooling course, he learned how to take something familiar and innovate to enhance it. In a Journalism course with Professor Bob Richards, he learned that “the real story tells itself, but only if you report the facts.”

“In my work, I try to add a little more light and hope to our world," notes McCourt.