Entertainment

"The Voice" changes its format for season three

August 13, 2012 / 10:48 AM EDT / CBS/AP

NBC, judges, seated from left, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine are shown during a rehearsal for the second season of "The Voice," in Los Angeles. AP Photo/NBC,Lewis Jacobs

(CBS/AP) NBC's "The Voice" is spicing up its competition this year, allowing coaches to become talent thieves.

The show will add "battle rounds," executive producer Mark Burnett said Sunday, which will let the coaches "steal" contestants from each other.

The show also will introduce a new "knockout round" to slice the number of contestants on each coach's team, Burnett told a Malibu, Calif., news conference. He was joined by coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, and host Carson Daly.

They were promoting the series' third season, beginning Sept. 10, as "The Voice" adds a fall run to its original midseason slot.

Because the coaches have busy music careers, Burnett said, substitutes may be needed in the future. But the original four have "chairs for life," he said.