In its search for a replacement for the late Peter Jennings as anchor of "World News Tonight," ABC News settled on a youthful anchor team: Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff.

Their appointment could be an attempt to reach a young audience that has largely tuned out the traditional network evening newscasts. With Vargas, 43, and Woodruff, 44, the anchor team has the potential to be in place for several years. The top-rated newscast, NBC's "Nightly News," is anchored by 47-year-old Brian Williams.

Left out of the mix is veteran ABC newsman Charles Gibson, the co-host of "Good Mor-ning America."

Gibson, Vargas and Woodruff had been the main substitutes since Jennings announced in April that he had lung cancer. Jennings died Aug. 7.

"Elizabeth and Bob together will be the anchors for this new broadcast and digital age of 'World News Tonight,' " said ABC News President David Westin.

It was a key decision for Westin, who had to weigh whether it was worth disrupting the lucrative "Good Morning America" by taking Gibson off the broadcast.

"I think ABC decided to take one risk instead of two," said Bob Zelnick, former ABC newsman and now dean of Boston University's journalism school.

Vargas has been co-anchor of ABC's "20/20," and Westin said she will keep that job. Woodruff is an attorney who covered the Justice Department for ABC and has been the weekend anchor of "World News Tonight."

The decision will make Woodruff and Vargas the first co-anchors of an evening newscast since Dan Rather and Connie Chung briefly worked together at "CBS Evening News" in the mid-1990s.

The network is also making more groundbreaking changes in its second-ranked network news broadcast. ABC said it would be first to broadcast live in three time zones, starting in January. Vargas and Woodruff will do new versions of "World News Tonight" for the central time zone and West Coast.

ABC is part of The Walt Disney Co.