By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - DirecTV Group Inc said on Wednesday it will appoint PepsiCo Inc executive Michael White as its new chief executive starting on Jan. 1.

White's appointment brings to an end a six-month hunt for a replacement for Chase Carey, who left DirecTV to return to News Corp as No. 2 to Rupert Murdoch.

The 20-year veteran of Pepsi joins at a crucial time for the No. 1 U.S. satellite TV operator. The company is about to split off from its parent Liberty Media Group on Thursday if shareholders approve a proposal to do so. Liberty Media is controlled by media mogul John Malone, who is also chairman of DirecTV.

Under the proposed transaction DirecTV is to be combined with Liberty Entertainment, whose assets include FUN Technologies, Game Show Network and three regional sports networks.

DirecTV has maintained growth momentum since Carey left in June, regularly adding more subscribers even as its cable rivals have lost customers. It now has 18 million subscribers in the U.S.

White, who will join DirecTV's board, was described as a 'terrific operator' by beverage industry analyst John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest.

'He's very talented and DirecTV will certainly benefit from his experience,' he said.

A key challenge for White will be to manage the important marketing relationship with phone company partners AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc. Both companies distribute DirecTV's video as part of a bundle that includes phone and Internet services.

The marketing relationship has often led to the expectation that one of the phone companies will eventually bid for ownership of DirecTV.

Malone said last month at Liberty investor day that 'a close and long-lasting relationship with the telcos in the U.S. is certainly a very important part of any (DirecTV) CEO's job.

'And whether that involves a transaction or merely an extension of the bundling relationships, broadening and deepening that to include wireless, I think is going to be a very important part of the CEO's job.'

As well as developing a wireless strategy, DirecTV also faces competition from a resurgent DISH Network Corp which snapped up more satellite TV customers in the last quarter in the U.S. than DirecTV.

White said in September he would retire later this year from his position as CEO of PepsiCo International and vice chairman of PepsiCo. White had agreed to stay on with Pepsi after Indra Nooyi was appointed as chief executive in 2006 ahead of him.

DirecTV has been run for the last six months by interim chief executive Larry Hunter.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Phil Berlowitz) Keywords: DIRECTV/

(e-mail:yinka.adegoke@thomsonreuters.com Reuters Messaging: Yinka.adegoke.reuters.com@reuters.net +1 646 223 6081)

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