'60 Minutes' to launch monthly sports mag on Showtime

"60 Minutes" -- which has cloned itself a few times in the past with editions like "60 Minutes II," "60 Minutes on CNBC," "60 Minutes More“ and even "30 Minutes,” for kids -- will now turn its attention to sports, via a new mag effort for Showtime that launches in November.

Venture just made the announcement, and it promises two original pieces and one repurposed piece. This is unique certainly, insofar as "60" is, was and hopefully always will be a television treasure and -- along with “Frontline" -- the best news mag on the air. Sports? Well, it's done a few sports pieces over the years, usually profiles and the occasional investigation. Idea of course is to give Showtime something to compete with HBO's excellent long-running -- since 1995 -- "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.:" Here are details from the release:

The new program will utilize the reporting skills of on-air talent from "60 Minutes" and CBS Sports, while providing the same first class "60 Minutes" investigations, interviews, features and profiles that have kept the broadcast in Nielsen’s Top 10 for decades. A dedicated unit of "60 Minutes" producers reporting to Fager and Owens will prepare the stories for each monthly broadcast of "60 Minutes of Sports." Each month, the sports magazine will feature two original segments and one updated "60 Minutes" classic sports story from the news magazine’s archive. In addition, each broadcast will contain a timely, studio-based interview with a sports newsmaker.