Rules & Resources
Consumer Magazine Support Center

Sponsored Sales Explanatory Reporting Updated

At the July 2004 meeting of the ABC board of directors action was taken to modify current explanatory made in the Publisher’s Statement and Audit Reports related to those publications required to make reporting of sponsored sales.

Current explanatory made in Paragraph 9 of ABC reports, require for sponsored sales the reporting of price paid for subscriptions by purchaser and range of sales from smallest to largest sale. Effective immediately, the requirement for reporting of price paid and range of sales will be eliminated. The explanatory information for sponsored sales, required to be reported in Paragraph 9, Explanatory Paragraph, will include:

  • Average number of copies per issues as shown in Paragraph 4B or 9, whichever is appropriate.
  • Standard definition of sponsored copies to be “copies purchased in quantities of 11 or more”
  • As an option publishers may elect to report circulation by distribution points (i.e. airlines, hotels, waiting rooms, etc) provided information is available to the auditor to verify this claim.
  • As an option publishers may elect to report circulation by classification of “Public Place/Sponsored” and “Individually Address/Sponsored” per definitions as noted below provided information is available to the auditor to verify this claim.
“Public Place/Sponsored” – Copies delivered to waiting rooms, reception areas or other public settings to be shared by multiple consumers, or to be picked up by unknown user of the venue.

“Individually Addressed/Sponsored” – Copies delivered to private residences or business offices and intended for the personal consumption of the addressee.

As an example of the new explanatory information required, the following is provided:

“Sponsored Subscription Sales: An average of ___ copies per issue shown in Paragraph 4B and included in Par 1, represent copies purchased by business concerns in quantities of 11 or more.”



Posted July 23, 2004