NBC EXPANDS ON STRONG PERFORMANCE OF NEW VOCAL COMPETITION SERIES "THE VOICE" WITH TWO-HOUR LIVE EPISODES STARTING JUNE 7

"The Voice" Began Its "Battle" Rounds on May 10 Through May 31; New Season of "America's Got Talent" Debuts May 31 (8-10 p.m. ET)

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 12, 2011 - Owing to the strong performance of NBC's new series "The Voice," NBC will offer expanded two-hour live episodes of the vocal competition show beginning June 7 (9-11 p.m. ET) following original episodes of America's top-rated summer show "America's Got Talent" (8-9 p.m. ET).

The announcement was made today by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

After the "battle" rounds of "The Voice" -- which will air on Tuesdays (10-11 p.m. ET) from May 10 through May 31 - the series will then broadcast live two-hour episodes on Tuesdays from June 7 through June 28.

"America's Got Talent" will debut on Tuesday, May 31 as previously scheduled -- but now from 8-10 p.m. (ET) and then continue on Tuesdays, beginning June 7 (8-9 p.m. ET). Starting Wednesday, June 1, the second night of "America's Got Talent" will air from 9-10 p.m. ET. "America's Got Talent" will begin its live shows on Tuesday, July 5 (9-11 p.m. ET) for the remainder of the summer season as previously scheduled and result shows on Wednesday from 9-10 p.m. ET.

Through its first three weeks on the air, "The Voice" has averaged a 5.3 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49 and 11.8 million viewers overall, making it the #1 new series of the season in adults 18-49 and the #3 entertainment series overall behind only Fox's two editions of "American Idol." Each Tuesday telecast of "The Voice" to date has ranked as the #1 program of the night in adults 18-49, according to "live plus same day" results from Nielsen Media Research.

"The Voice" is a vocal competition series modeled after Holland's top-rated vocal talent discovery show, "The Voice of Holland." Hosted by Carson Daly, the show features four musician coaches, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, who will coach only the most talented vocalists.

NBC recently added more star-power to its new vocal competition series "The Voice" with singers Reba, Monica, Sia (Furler) and music producer Adam Blackstone joining the series as new advisers who will lend their experience and talents to musician coaches Aguilera, Green, Levine and Shelton.

Aguilera (@therealxtina) teams up with singer/songwriter Sia (@Siamusic), Levine (@adamlevine) with Blackstone (@bassicblack), Green (@CeeLoGreen) with singer Monica (@MonicaMyLife), and Shelton (@blakeshelton)with veteran singer Reba (@Reba) -- eventually pitting two of their own team members against each other in a dueling duet.

Each of the musician coaches picked their closest advisers to help them at the next "battle" rounds of the competition. During the battle rounds the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal face-off, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance.

The show's innovative format features three stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the competition enters into a battle phase, and finally, the live performance shows. The show's casting team is working with the music industry for the best singers to bring to the blind audition process. During the blind auditions, the decisions from the coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the contestants perform, but they don't get to see them -- thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the contestant's voice, he/she pushes a button to select the contestant for his/her team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that he/she can face the contestant he/she has selected.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their singers, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success. During the battle rounds the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal face-off, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance.

At the end of the battle episodes, only the strongest members of each coach's roster remain and proceed to the live stage shows. In this final performance phase of the competition, the top contestants from each team will compete against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save one talent on each team, leaving the coach to decide live who they want to save and who will not move on. From these four, one will be named "The Voice" -- and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract and $100,000.

"The Voice" is a presentation of Mark Burnett's One Three Inc., Talpa Content USA, Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series is created by John de Mol, who will executive-produce along with Burnett, Audrey Morrissey and Stijn Bakkers.

For contestant blogs, embeddable clips and full episodes of "The Voice" please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/TheVoice.

For contestant blogs, embeddable clips and full episodes of "America's Got Talent," please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.facebook.com/nbcagt

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