Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin may be expensive, but he’s not priceless.
That’s according to Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei, who gave more hints today that Karmazin is history.
Maffei, speaking at Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference this morning, fielded questions about whether Karmazin would stick around if Liberty gains control of the Sirius.
“Mel has done a great job, but is he replaceable,” Maffei told the audience “Graves are full of replaceable people. I put myself in that category, though I’m not in the grave yet.”
He added: “The business will not fail without Mel.”
Karmazin, whose contract expires at the end of the year, has also indicated he’s prepared to exit, saying that he’s “historically been expensive” to keep around.
The outspoken Sirius CEO has resisted Liberty’s efforts to gain majority control of the satellite-radio broadcaster.
Liberty, controlled by media mogul John Malone, owns just under 50 percent of Sirius and has asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve it as the majority owner.
Separately, Maffei said premium channel Starz will soon be available online, thanks to new “authentication” deals with distributors which are about to roll.
Starz, which carries original shows such as “Spartacus” and has movie deals with Sony and Disney, is one of the laggards when it comes to giving cable and satellite-TV subscribers the option to watch shows on the Web as well.
Time Warner’s HBO GO was the first to make its product available to pay-TV customers.
“We’ll see an authentication model coming out shortly,” Maffei said.
Starz had a major deal with streaming service Netflix, which expired earlier this year. The company didn’t renew because it threatened existing pay-tv relationships.
Maffei hinted that Starz may be available through other streaming competitors to Netflix.
“There will be online offerings that are more compatible, tiered offerings that fit better with our offering,” he said.
catkinson@nypost.com