There’s been a huge amount of chatter about “The View” after Rosie O’Donnell joined the show and proceeded to pick a fight with just about everyone. Ratings soared and her celebrity targets cringed.

But Rosie is just one change in the "View" lineup. The big question in 2007 is who will fill the still-empty co-host seat vacated by Star Jones Reynolds last summer.

It's one of several key developments in broadcast network dayparts media people need to keep an eye in 2007.

It will be a tough choice. The daytime chatter needs someone who will complement O'Donnell, offering a contrast, without either overshadowing her, if such a thing could be imagined, or being intimidated into submissiveness by her. She also needs to mesh with executive producer/co-host Barbara Walters and the others.

Walters is clearly in no hurry to name that person, and she might be tempted to forego doing so for fear of picking the wrong one. But the show needs that fifth person, as became evident during the holidays when vacations thinned the roundtable to three regulars and a guest co-host.

Here’s a few women who have smarts and seem to mesh with O’Donnell: actress Sherri Shepherd, a lively sort and a rumored top candidate; Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey’s bud and a smooth talker; newswomen Jane Pauley or Cokie Roberts, who could serve as the Meredith Vieira-like moderator; or “One Life to Live” actress Renee Goldsberry, who filled in ably for Reynolds last summer.

Here are some other things to watch for in dayparts in 2007:

Look for Fox to launch a late-night show.

It's no longer if but when. While Fox has yet to make any announcements, it's clearly moving ahead. In late 2005 it appointed Todd Yasui its senior vice president of late night, and late last year he launched “The Spike Feresten Show” Saturdays after "MAD TV."

With NBC’s Jay Leno and CBS’s David Letterman set to end their runs in a few years, it's an opportunity Fox cannot pass up.

Look for Fox to bring in a young, lesser-known talent, a Conan O'Brien on the rise who can take some time to develop, not a big star. The network tried that in the past with Joan Rivers and Chevy Chase and flopped badly.

Starting at 11, after the local news, the show would have a half-hour jump on the competition, and that would serve it well as it builds its position in advance of the retirements of Leno and Letterman.

In mornings, look for an “Early Show” freshen-up.

CBS’s morning show has long been in third but this year its ratings sank further. The show has been through numerous makeovers, all busts, and now it's ripe for yet another.

Having recruited Katie Couric to take over its evening news, CBS could well choose to bring in another high-profile personality, someone of Connie Chung's stature, to lead its morning team.

The argument against is that it paid big bucks for Couric and its "Evening News" is still in third place. The argument in favor is that her newscast still improved the ratings from a year ago.

In the evening news race, look for Charles Gibson to challenge Brian Williams for No. 1

In a year of change for the broadcast networks’ evening news, the recent rising ratings for ABC’s Charles Gibson were the big surprise. In the coming year he could well climb even more and challenge NBC's Brian Williams for No. 1 among adults 25-54 and perhaps eventually total viewers.

Of all the evening anchors, Gibson slipped into his job with the least hoopla. There were doubts he could handle hard news after years of bantering on “Good Morning America.” Disappointing early ratings gave weight to that perception.

Then Gibson showed his stuff, proving himself more than capable anchoring big stories. And with his cool-grandpa delivery and wry wit, he may be winning viewers over for the simple fact that he is not Couric or Williams, who both tend to elicit sharp reactions, favorable and unfavorable, with their distinctive styles. Gibson seems to have a lower turnoff factor.

Meanwhile, in daypart ratings for the week ended Dec. 24, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the top Sunday morning news show, bringing in 3.39 million total viewers and a 2.5 rating and 7 share in households. CBS’s “Face the Nation” had an audience of 3.19 million and a 2.4/7, ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was at 2.5 million and 1.9/6, and Fox’s “News Sunday” had 1.19 million and 0.9/3 in households.

In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” won the week with 6.2 million total viewers and a 2.0 average among adults 18-49. “Late Show with David Letterman,” on CBS, had 4.2 million viewers and a 1.3 rating, while ABC’s “Nightline” brought in 3.2 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in the demo. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.7 million total viewers and a 1.2 in the demo, CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” had 1.9 million viewers and a 0.6, and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” tied with NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly,” both with 1.7 million total viewers and a 0.7 in adults 18-49.

In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was the clear winner with 5.5 million total viewers and a 4.3 rating and 15 share among households. ABC’s “Good Morning America” had 4.7 million total viewers and a 3.6/13 in households, and CBS’s “Early Show” had 2.9 million and a 2.2/8.

In daytime, CBS had the largest audience for both daytime dramas and full daytime, 4.07 million and 4.38 million total viewers. ABC averaged the next-largest audience with 3.2 million watching its dramas and 3.29 million tuned in for full daytime, while NBC had 2.7 million for both dramas and full daytime. Among the key demographic women 18-49, ABC led with a 1.7 rating in daytime and a 1.6 (tied with NBC) in full daytime. NBC had a 1.6 for its dramas, while CBS had a 1.3 for dramas and full daytime.

In evening network news for the week ended Jan. 1, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” led with 9.38 million viewers and a 2.4 in adults 25-54. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” had 8.97 million viewers and a 2.3, and CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third with 7.33 million total viewers and a 2.0 in the key demo.

In syndication for the week ended Dec. 17, the top program was “Wheel of Fortune” with an 8.6 household rating, followed by ESPN’s “NFL Regular Season” with 8.5, “Jeopardy” at 6.8, “Oprah Winfrey Show” at 6 and “Everybody Loves Raymond” at 5.3.