NBC is setting up a powerhouse summer Tuesday, expanding live episodes of “The Voice” to two hours beginning in June.
Starting on June 7, “The Voice” will air its performance episodes from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., following an hour of “America’s Got Talent.”
This news isn’t exactly shocking for a pair of reasons:
First, “The Voice” has averaged 11.8 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49 in its first three airings. That makes it the top-rated new series of the season in the 18-49 demographic and places it behind only “American Idol” and “American Idol” as the No. 3 entertainment program in the key demo for the entire season.
Second, “The Voice” has already established a willingness to take things at its own deliberate pace. This past week’s episode — which lost a handful of viewers from the audition episodes — managed to cram a total of four performances — or “Battles” — into a full hour of television. It was always hard to imagine the live episodes presenting a full compliment of talent in only 60 minutes.
“The Voice” will continue its four-per-week Battle pace until the end of the month.
“America’s Got Talent” will premiere on Tuesday, May 31 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will continue on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. “AGT” will shift into its own live shows on Tuesday, July 5 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.