The Debut Of 60 Minutes II

The 60 Minutes spin-off, which will carry a "II" in its title, will premiere January 13th. Airing Wednesdays from 9 to 10 p.m. EST, 60 Minutes II replaces CBS' low-rated freshman drama To Have & To Hold.

Barring schedule changes by other networks, 60 Minutes II won't be competing against another newsmagazine in that time slot. ABC, Fox, NBC, UPN and the WB all currently air entertainment shows during that hour.

However, an edition of Dateline NBC is currently seen an hour earlier, while ABC's 20/20 Wednesday airs an hour later.

Correspondents for 60 Minutes II are Dan Rather, anchor of The CBS Evening News; CBS News Middle East correspondent Bob Simon, based in Tel Aviv since 1987; Vicki Mabrey, the network's London-based correspondent, who is relocating to New York for her new assignment; and Charlie Rose, host and executive producer of the New York-based PBS talk show that bears his name.

Jeff Fager, former Evening News executive producer and a former producer at 60 Minutes, is the executive producer of the new program.

The original 60 Minutes, which premiered on September 24th, 1968, will continue to air from 7 to 8 p.m. EST on Sundays.