CBS News “60 Minutes” executive editor Bill Owens will be adding to his duties as the co-EP of “60 Minutes Sports,” which will debut on pay-cabler Showtime in January. Owens gets profiled by B&C’s Tim Baysinger (subscription required), and reveals a bit more about the program, which will combine updated archival stories, new stories, and in-studio interviews.
“Everybody on the floor is going to contribute stories,” he says, noting that Steve Kroft, Scott Pelley, Byron Pitts, Lara Logan and James Brown will all participate. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian will also be a full-time correspondent. And Owens says they have talked about bringing in sports talent from outside the CBS/Showtime corporate family: “We may well end up with a familiar face from one of the other broadcasts.”
The decision to place 60 Minutes of Sports on Showtime had as much as anything to do with the premium network’s success, says Owens. “Showtime is really doing so well right now,” he says, adding, “They were the ones who came to us.” Owens also lauds Showtime’s highquality sports broadcasts, including Inside the NFL and Inside NASCAR.