Rules & ResourcesBylaws & Rules
ABC Policy Regarding the Sale of Carrier Delivery Circulation and Single Copy Sales of Newspapers, Sale of Subscriptions and Single Copy Sales of Magazines and Farm Publications with Other Services
Copies sold in connection with other services, such as cable television subscriptions, transportation services, hotel or motel room services, etc., either through subscription or single copy sales, must meet the following criteria in order to qualify the copies as paid circulation in Bureau reports.
(a) The subscriber or recipient must take affirmative action in ordering the publication, i.e., the subscriber must indicate through positive action that the publication was wanted; offers based upon the assumption that the offer was accepted unless specifically declined will not qualify copies sold as paid circulation.
In those situations where hotel guests are not required to provide signature upon check-in or to otherwise affirm aspects of the reservation, copies served may qualify for inclusion in paid circulation if, in the opinion of the managing director, adequate notification is made to the guest regarding the amount to be charged for the publication and provided reasonable opportunity exists for the guest to decline delivery.
(b) A separate, clearly identified amount must be paid by the subscriber or recipient for the publication, for newspapers published outside of Canada, such amount is to be listed as a separate item on each service invoice and be at least the amount defined by the appropriate publication division. (See Bureau Rule C 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined, E 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined, and F 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined.
(c) If the subscriber or recipient chooses not to accept the offer, the amount to be charged for the publication must be deductible from the invoice for the service and the amount of the invoice reduced accordingly. For programs wherein long-term subscriptions are sold in conjunction with an apartment lease, the purchase price of the subscription may be refunded in a separate transaction if the tenant elects not to purchase the subscription.
(d) All promotion efforts must present the publication as a separate item. The publication cannot be presented as being included with a service at no additional cost.
(e) Terms of the offer(s) must be stated in the price paragraph of Bureau reports and the quantities involved reported.
(f) Auditable records to support the sale of copies claimed as paid circulation must be available for Bureau auditors.
(g) Applicable to newspapers and in regard to sales to hotel guests only, in those instances where subparagraph (b) above is not followed by a hotel, the copies served may be reported as "Other Paid Circulation — Single Copy Sales — Hotel/Guest Copies" provided the other elements of this policy are met. Not applicable to newspapers published in Canada.