The boss of DMG Radio, Paul Thompson, concedes that plans by Virgin Radio and John Singleton’s Macquarie Network for FM licences in the eastern states represents a “pretty significant threat”.

Thompson is in charge of all the Nova stations and will be a big bidder at the auction for the new Sydney FM licence (15 April), the Brisbane licence (22 April) and for the new Melbourne licence (August).

Speaking at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch, Thompson said: “I have no idea how much they will bid for new licences. They are pretty scary, aren’t they? I don’t think it’s going to be easy at all for anyone else to get a licence and we will do the best we can, but I accept that they are a pretty significant threat.”

Apart from a second station in the Sydney market, DMG desperately wants a Brisbane FM station to complete its national Nova network.

Mr Thompson says Austereo is more at risk from the Virgin-Macquarie joint venture because it could lose more market share.

He says he doesn’t know how much the new partnership would pay for the licences, but says the only thing that would “save Austereo’s bacon” would be if DMG won the licences and kept the new player out of the market.