Rules & Resources
Newspaper Support Center

Third-Party Sales Guidelines - Canadian Newspapers

DEFINITION

A ‘third-party sale’ is defined as copies and/or subscriptions intended for free distribution to individuals, not intended for resale:

  • Purchased in quantities of 11 or more by a single entity to promote its professional or business interests

  • Purchased by the following establishments (regardless of volume)
    • Hotels for guests
    • Restaurants for patrons
    • Airlines for guests
    • Rental cars for guests
    • Hospitals for patients
    • Nursing homes for residents
These copies will be reported under paid circulation as “Third-Party Sales” on ABC reports provided the purchaser pays a qualifying rate for the newspapers, net of all considerations (See C 21.1 Paid Circulation Defined), and executes the program in compliance with all of the third-party sale guidelines.

For more details, see:
Pricing
Considerations
Reporting

Quantities of 10 or Less

Copies or subscriptions purchased in quantities of 10 or less, by a single purchaser and not intended for resale, must comply with all third-party sales qualification guidelines (free distribution to the end consumer).

However, the circulation should be claimed on ABC reports as:

  • Single-Copy Sales:
    • A qualifying price is paid for all the copies.
  • Third-Party Sales:
    • The copies fall into one of the six exceptions noted above (hotels, airlines, etc.) and a qualifying price is paid for all the copies.

Copies Intended for Resale

Copies intended for resale cannot be claimed as third-party sales at any time.

Copies purchased with the intent of resale to consumers are considered single-copy sales for reporting as well as qualification. Therefore, the transaction must comply with all rules and guidelines applicable to single-copy sales. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Payment by the final consumer must represent a qualifying price
  • Quantification of all unsold copies (returns)
  • Exclusion of these unsold copies from paid circulation




<--Back to Third-Party Sales main page