John Malone’s Liberty Media said it has seen strong internal and external candidates in the company’s search for a CEO for Sirius XM Radio. A final decision is expected in the “next few months.” Jim Meyer was named interim CEO in December after the exit of Mel Karmazin.
Sirius XM CEO Greg Maffei said the search for a new CEO is ongoing and could last another few months, as the search committee reviews strong internal and external candidates. He said the ideal CEO would have experience with a subscription model, a technology background, direct marketing prowess and also understand the content and talent side of the business, reported Reuters.
Liberty has previously said that Meyer is one of executives being considered. On the call, Maffei said Meyer had been articulate at an investor conference earlier in the week.
Maxim Group analyst John Tinker told Reuters he was surprised the search process has taken so long and said he thinks Meyer is still a front runner.
“The subscriber model is very dear to Liberty’s heart and with Meyer’s experience in that, he’s certainly ticked all the boxes,” Tinker said.
Liberty has been tweaking its portfolio in recent months. Liberty spun off the premium TV cable network Starz in January.
Liberty has also increased its stake in concert promoter Live Nation to about 27 percent. Maffei said in a statement that it was pleased in the growth of ticket sales at Live Nation for 2013.
