Some media companies think “diversification and scale” will protect them from the threats of new technology and new media competition, according to analysts speaking at a panel session during the CRA National Radio Conference.

In the new environment created by the government’s media bills, radio company Austereo, newspaper company John Fairfax Holdings, and radio/tv/film company Southern Cross Broadcasting could all be prime takeover targets because of their open share registers, said analysts Nola Hodgson and Alex Pollak in a session moderated by Neil Shoebridge.

When asked whether Macquarie Regional RadioWorks would be a buyer or a seller in the new media environment, Pollak threw the question back to CEO Rhys Holleran, who was in the audience, but no instant answer was forthcoming.

Despite denials from many companies about merger and acquisition plans, Hodgson told the conference she believes “there will be consolidation among the existing players.”

In an earlier session, the ACCC’s Graham Samuel again warned the industry that the ACCC would keep a close eye on developments once the new laws are passed to regulate anti-competitive deals, but he declined to make predictions about what the ACCC would decide until there was a specific proposal before the regulatory body.

The negative effect of the ‘trigger’ and mandated local content requirements was only mentioned in public sessions a couple of times, but behind the scenes most radio companies expressed their outrage at the heavy handed tactics that unfairly target the radio industry, used to mollify regional backbenchers and get the media bills through.

One proprietor summed up the feeling, telling radioinfo: “We were a soft target, they hit us to keep their backbenchers on side.” More lobbying is planned next week before the bills go back to the House of Representatives.