NBC to include third hour to 'The Voice'

NBC is raising the amount on "The Voice." The Peacock is adding another hour to the hit unscripted series Tuesdays at 9 p.m. beginning April 3. Additionally, the present two-hour edition will begin airing survive April 2. "Voice" will air its final episode of year inside a two-hour Tuesday episode on May 8. That will assist like a marketing platform for "America's Got Talent," that will begin its seventh season sooner than usual with a set of two-hour episodes on May 14 and 15. Adding "Voice" on Tuesday also needs to help give a lift for NBC's new unscripted series "Fashion Star," which will receive a lead-in in the second evening of "Voice." "Star" premieres on March 13. Growing "Voice" to 3 hrs per week can help spread the effectiveness of NBC's reigning giant among an agenda that's battling nearly otherwise. The extra hour of "Voice" is going to be dedicated to live elimination models. It is a strategy similar to the main one utilized by other unscripted hits including ABC's "Dwts,Inch that will now see the 3 of their hrs increase directly against "Voice" in the same time frame slots. Blunting "Stars" with increased "Voice" may also help to keep ABC in 4th place one of the broadcast systems within the 18-49 demo race. The Alphabet is presently trailing NBC largely due to the huge rankings injection the Peacock got from the Super Bowl telecast recently. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com