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Ask ABC: I am purchasing the subscriber file of a magazine that has ceased publication and I want serve the subscribers the remainder of their subscription with my magazine. Does ABC have any guidelines surrounding this type of transaction?
If you have purchased or plan to purchase a subscriber file from a magazine that has been discontinued and you want to count the circulation as paid on ABC reports, there are a couple of steps you can take to ensure that the circulation qualifies.
Step 1—Obtain ABC Approval
Notify ABC of a file transfer as soon as possible, preferably before you even purchase the list. Members can complete the Transfer Notification and Request form and submit it directly to their Publisher Relations manager. With the form, you will also need to submit the most recent copy of each magazine and a copy of the subscriber notification piece.
Step 2—Ensure the Publications are Homogeneous
ABC rules state that when one publication is transferring a discontinued publication’s subscriber liability, the replacement publication must be homogeneous in content. If the replacement publication is not homogeneous in content with the closed publication, all subscribers must be offered a cash refund.
Read ABC’s guidelines to determine if two publications are homogeneous in content.
Step 3—Validate the Subscriber File
ABC will need to conduct an order test to ensure that the subscribers on the file meet ABC’s requirements. The order tests do not need to be completed prior to the transfer, but must be conducted prior to the completion of the audit.
It is important that the magazine receiving the file has ready access to all records and subscriber documents that support the order and payment for all names on the file.
Step 4—Access the Promotional File
The magazine that received the file transfer must acquire the promotional file for the discontinued magazine’s last year of publication. This file should be made available to ABC during the audit.
Step 5—Calculate the File Transfer Ratio
A magazine may calculate the remaining liability using one of two methods:
- Based on the Publisher’s Suggested Prices
To use this method, first determine the annual publisher’s suggested rates for each magazine. Next, determine the “per-copy” price by dividing the annual publisher’s suggested price by the number of issues in a year for both magazines. Finally, divide the per-copy price of the discontinued magazine by the per-copy price of the magazine that acquired the file.
Example: Magazine A merges with Magazine B. Magazine A’s annual publisher’s suggested rate is 12 issues for $12.00 or $1.00 per copy. Magazine B’s annual publisher’s suggested rate is 12 issues for $18.00 or $1.50 per copy.
| Unexpired term for Magazine A | Value of unexpired term for Magazine A (unexpired term x $1.00) | Per-copy price of Magazine B based on Publisher's Suggested Price | Number of issues of Magazine B that Magazine A subscribers receive |
| 4 issues | $4.00 | $1.50 | 2.7* or 3 issues |
| 6 issues | $6.00 | $1.50 | 4 issues |
| 12 issues | $12.00 | $1.50 | 8 issues |
| 14 issues | $14.00 | $1.50 | 9.3* or 10 issues |
| 18 issues | $18.00 | $1.50 | 12 issues |
| *Fractions are rounded up |
- Based on the Copy-for-Copy Formula
Using the copy-for-copy formula, the magazine that acquired the file serves the same number of copies of its magazine as are due of the discontinued magazine. This can only be done when the discontinued magazine’s per-copy annual publisher’s suggested rate is at least 50 percent of the per-copy annual publisher’s suggested rate of the magazine that acquired the file.
Step 6—Determine the Start of Service
ABC rules require that the start of service date for the magazine that acquired the file begin within six months of the last issue served of the discontinued magazine.
When a magazine acquires a discontinued magazine’s subscriber file, it cannot count any post-expire copies as paid on ABC statements.
Step 7—Maintain a Transfer File Detail
Once the file transfer is complete, the magazine will need to provide ABC the following information during the audit.
This information must be maintained for both the discontinued magazine and the magazine that acquired the file:
- Complete subscriber list
- Geographic analysis report
- Copy liability report
- Total number of gross subscriptions on the transferring file (from this file, ABC will select an Nth sample)
- Complete transferring galley
- The galley should include subscriber names, addresses, amounts paid, start dates, expiration dates and sources.
- Complete first issue galley
To learn more about ABC’s requirements surrounding file transfers, read the file transfer requirements or contact your Publisher Relations manager for a complimentary review.
Related Links:
File Transfer Requirements and Notification and Review Form
Rule F 9.4 Transfers on Consolidation
Rule F 9.5 Purchase of Subscription List
Rule F 9.6 Transfers from One Going Publication to Another
Rule F 9.7 Transfers from Suspended Publications to the Others
Publisher Relations Manager Contacts
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