Mork vs. Barbie

Network No. 1 goes literary

Had it been an episode in an ABC sitcom, the plot summary might have read: Mork from Ork scoops up Jonathan Livingston Seagull from under the nose of Barbie. The American Broadcasting Cos., which built the hottest TV network in the industry with pop hits like Mork & Mindy, last week sprang a surprise bid to acquire Macmillan, Inc., the old-line publishing conglomerate that brought out Richard Bach's 1970 bestseller about a mythical seagull. In doing so, the big broadcaster (1978 revenues: $1.8 billion) upset merger talks that had been going on between Macmillan and Mattel, Inc., the California-based toymaker that grew big on sales of Barbie dolls but which is still less than one-third ABC's size. ABC's offer of $335 million for a controlling 55% of Macmillan's shares was just $6 million sweeter than Mattel's bid, but the betting was that it would be accepted.

Macmillan, which had sales of $554 million last year, would be by far the biggest purchase that the network's aggressive new publishing division has made. In just two years, the division has grabbed up several specialized magazines, including Los Angeles and Modern Photography, as well as Chilton Co., which publishes a score of specialty magazines. Manhattan-based Macmillan would broaden ABC's book publishing base considerably. In addition to its trade, text and reference book divisions, it owns the profitable international chain of some 200 Berlitz language schools as well as bookstores, department stores, music and film companies and the Katharine Gibbs secretarial school.

If ABC does get Macmillan, all three U.S. networks will have big stakes in book publishing. But their three-sided literary competition may not last long. CBS, which owns Holt, Rinehart and Winston and the Fawcett and Popular Library paperback houses, seems content with its acquisitions. But, in an apparent effort to concentrate on larger operations, RCA, NBC'S parent company, is planning to sell off its Random House subsidiary.

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