NBC PICKS UP HIT MUSIC COMPETITION SERIES "THE VOICE" FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH CYCLES FOR BROADCAST IN SPRING AND FALL 2013

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - September 25, 2012 - NBC has picked up the fourth and fifth cycles of the hit music competition series "The Voice" for Spring and Fall 2013, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.

"This pickup will assure the many dedicated 'Voice' fans that this innovative show will continue to bring some of the most talented new voices to the world's attention through all of next year," said Greenblatt. "With the addition of Usher and Shakira as rotating coaches to join Christina, CeeLo, Adam and Blake in the next cycle, we know that this incredibly addictive program will remain even more relevant as we move forward through this exciting season. My hat is off to John de Mol, Mark Burnett, and everyone who produces this classy and highly entertaining show for us."

"The Voice" is generating strong ratings at the start of its third season, averaging a 4.5 rating through its first two Mondays in adults 18-49 and a 4.3 on its opening two Tuesdays, while in total viewers, the show has averaged 12.9 million persons on Monday and 12.5 million on Tuesday, according to Nielsen Media Research. Those two editions scored as the #1 and #2 non-sports telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox for both weeks in 18-49. In preliminary "fast affiliate" results for Monday of this week, "The Voice" delivered a 4.2 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 11.9 million viewers to rank a decisive #1for the night in 18-49 versus the premieres of ABC's and CBS's fall schedules and week two of the Fox lineup.

Last week - one week after its new fall season premiere -- "The Voice" introduced music superstars Usher and Shakira as two new celebrity musician coaches when it returns next spring for its fourth cycle. Christina Aguilera, who is releasing a new album and going on tour, and CeeLo Green, who is developing new music plus a scripted comedy series for NBC based on his life, will take the Spring 2013 cycle off.

Current celebrity musician coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will remain with the series through the fourth cycle.

"The Voice" returned with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show's third season. Celebrity musician coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton return along with Carson Daly as host and Christina Milian as Social Media Correspondent.

"The Voice" artists who have gone on to sign record deals include Season One artists Javier Colon, Xenia, Dia Frampton and Vicci Martinez, as well as Season Two artists Jermaine Paul, Juliet Sims, Tony Lucca, Chris Mann, Raelynn and The Shields Brothers. Gwen Sebastian and Nicolle Galyon are both releasing EPs.

The show's innovative format features four stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the battle round, the brand new knockouts and finally, the live performance shows.

During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don't get to see them -- thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist's voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes their button, the power then shifts to the artist to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes their button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success along with the help from their celebrity advisers. 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 battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals during the battle rounds.

At the end of the battles, only the strongest members of each coach's roster remain and proceed to the new knockout rounds. The artists will be paired again with a member of their team, but this time they find out only minutes before performing who they are being compared against. The artists each select their own song to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach's confidence and decision to take them to the live shows. Their coach will choose the winner and the artist not selected will be sent home.

In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top artists from each team will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists and the two artists with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week. In the end, one will be named "The Voice" and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

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

For embeddable clips and more, please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/TheVoice.

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