Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei says the search to replace Mel Karmazin atop SiriusXM could take months and may not conclude until 2013. Speaking on a conference call discussing Liberty's Q3 financial results, Maffei said, "We are both looking at internal and external candidates. It's unlikely to be a one-month process. I would hope it would be six [months] or less," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Liberty recently filed with the FCC to take over control of the satcaster, as it moves closer and closer to become the majority shareholder. Maffei said on yesterday's conference call that just one petition to deny Liberty's application has been filed. The full comment period for the proposal ends on November 20, but the WSJ reports that the FCC could take several more weeks to make any decision on the matter.

Karmazin announced in October that he would be stepping down as SiriusXM CEO, effective February 1, 2013.