CBS News is overhauling the weekday broadcast team of *The Early Show* as it seeks to improve the program’s longstanding third-place position in the network morning news ratings. Beginning January 3, Chris Wragge and Erica Hill, who have co-anchored the show’s Saturday edition, will replace Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez as weekday co-hosts.

The changes also include a new weather anchor, Marysol Castro, formerly of the weekend edition of ABC’s *Good Morning America*, who will replace Dave Price. Jeff Glor, a CBS Saturday news anchor, will become the weekday program’s regular news reader.

CBS executives said they believe the new team has the energy and chemistry to help the show grow. CBS News President Sean McManus praised Wragge and Hill’s ability to move between hard news and lighter material, while executive producer David Friedman said viewers were already familiar with most of the incoming personalities. McManus cautioned that he did not expect an immediate ratings turnaround.

The ratings gap is substantial. In the week before Thanksgiving, NBC’s *Today* averaged 5.6 million viewers a day, ABC’s *Good Morning America* drew 4.6 million, and *The Early Show* averaged 2.9 million, according to Nielsen. *Today* had not lost a ratings week in nearly 15 years.

Smith, who spent a combined 17 of the previous 25 years on CBS morning programs, said he was grateful for the opportunity and wished his successors well. He will remain at CBS as a reporter and primary substitute anchor for the *CBS Evening News*, *Face the Nation* and *Sunday Morning*. CBS said it was discussing future roles for Rodriguez and Price.

The abrupt shake-up surprised television critic David Bianculli, who said the show’s persistent ratings problems justified a change but described the speed of the overhaul as a sign of desperation.