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Verified Circulation Guide

Reporting of Verified Circulation

To review a complete prototype of an ABC Publisher’s Statement inclusive of verified circulation, please click on one of the links below:

Verified circulation is disclosed in the Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports in all appropriate paragraphs.

Paragraph 1
Verified circulation is disclosed as a total average for the reporting period. Verified circulation appears only under the umbrella of “Subscriptions”, as all types of verified circulation requires no less than two consecutive issues of service.

If the magazine claims any rate base or guarantee to advertisers, this rate base is displayed in Paragraph 1 of ABC documents. In situations where a publisher elects to make a rate base claim for a segment of circulation, such as paid only or verified only, then the explanatory paragraph may provide this additional disclosure. See also Rule F 11.1 Advertising Rate Base or Circulation Guarantee.

Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6 delineates the total average public place versus the total average individual use verified circulation for the reporting period.

Paragraph 6A and 6B
Paragraphs 6A and 6B disclose the total average verified circulation by source.
Paragraph 6A discloses the total average circulation by source for verified public place circulation for the five distribution locations that generated the highest volume. The remaining verified public place circulation appears under the source of “Other.”

Paragraph 6B discloses the total average circulation by source for verified individual use circulation for the five distribution sources that generated the highest volume. The remaining verified individual use circulation appears under the source of “Other.”

The source categories appearing in Paragraphs 6A and 6B must be those available from a standardized source listing issued by ABC and maintained on the ABC Web site. Publishers should consult this online listing when assigning codes for ABC record keeping purposes.

Publishers wishing to provide a more detailed disclosure of their verified circulation may do so. The publication should contact their Publisher Relations manager to discuss their specific intentions for additional disclosure.

Paragraph 9 (optional payment disclosure)
Verified circulation is not subject to Rule F 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined. However, in the explanatory paragraph of ABC Publisher’s Statements, publications have the option to disclose any payments received from a sponsor for verified circulation, provided the payment reported is net of all considerations. Adequate records must be in place to verify the transaction.

All Other Paragraphs
In addition to Paragraphs 1, 6, 6A and 6B, verified circulation is disclosed in other paragraphs of the ABC Publisher’s Statement. This includes, but is not limited to, total average verified circulation by issue and by edition (if applicable) and total verified circulation for the analyzed issue by geography (state and ABCD analysis).

Publications that participate in ABC’s e-Data service and submit data by county are required to provide verified circulation by county.



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