Rules & ResourcesNewspaper Support Center
Third-Party Sales Guidelines and Rules
(U.S. and Canadian Newspaper Publications)
The ABC board of directors has developed a set of guidelines to govern the qualification and reporting of third-party sales programs.
Definition of Third-Party Sales
Rule C 3.3 Third-Party Sales
Limitations
Reporting
Qualification Requirements
Notification Requirement
Newspaper personnel are REQUIRED to notify ABC of all third-party programs intended to be executed and claimed as paid circulation on ABC Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports. This notification must be made at least 14 days in advance of the beginning date of distribution.
If you fail to notify ABC of your programs within the 14-day requirement window, the circulation associated with those programs must be claimed as “Unpaid” on ABC Publisher’s Statements or Audit Reports.
Please submit all notifications to your Publisher Relations Manager at ABC using the standardized form below (complete the form in its entirety):
Notification Form (Microsoft® Word® Document)
ABC Publisher Relations Contact List
Publisher’s Responsibility
It is the publisher's responsibility to ensure all elements of the third-party transaction are executed in compliance with the ABC guidelines governing third-party sales.
The publisher is also responsible for maintaining documentation for the ABC auditor’s review to support the fact the program was executed in compliance with all of the ABC guidelines governing third-party sales
Qualification Requirements
Listed below are the qualification elements a newspaper must consider when initiating a third-party sales program. Click on a link to learn the ABC guidelines and requirements a publisher is responsible for executing.
Updated 10/12/06