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Friday, December 04, 1998 12:42:09 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The time and date have been set for the new "60 Minutes."

"60 Minutes II" will premiere January 13, airing Wednesdays from 9 to 10 p.m. EST, replacing CBS' low-rated freshman drama "To Have & To Hold."

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

But some CBS News insiders had expressed concern about the possibility of a 9 p.m. Wednesday time slot for "60 Minutes II," since the network has never been particularly strong on the night. Adding to that fear: NBC has been toying with the idea of moving its Wednesday edition of "Dateline NBC" from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

However, the network may be helped by the launch date, which falls right in the middle of the NFL playoff season. The timing will allow the network to hype the hybrid during some of the highest-rated football games of the year.

Dan Rather, Vicki Mabrey, Charlie Rose and Bob Simon will be the main correspondents for the new broadcast. Members of the Sunday "60 Minutes" team will update "classic" reports for the second edition of the show.

Rather, of course, is anchor of "The CBS Evening News"; Mabrey is the network's London-based correspondent; Rose is host and executive producer of the New York-based PBS talk show that bears his name; and Simon has been based in Tel Aviv, Israel since 1987 as CBS News Middle East correspondent.

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

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

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.