Subscription/Single-Copy Sales in Combination (Updated Nov. 2004)

Forced Combinations

When two or more different publications (newspaper, magazine, business or farm publication) are offered for a single price that is less than the cumulative basic/publisher’s suggested price of each publication, such sales are defined as “forced combinations” and subject to conditions as outlined in Rules C 5.4, D 8.5, E 8.5 and F 8.4 Subscription/Single Copy Sales in Combination.

Such rules stipulate that the amount required to be collected for the forced combination must be at least that amount as required by each publication’s division to qualify the individual publication as paid circulation. For newspapers, the amount to be collected must be 25 percent of the established basic price. For magazines, business publications and farm publications, the minimum amount to be collected must be one cent.

Combination Sales - Add-On Subscriptions

“Add-ons” are defined as the addition of a new publication served in conjunction with the consumer’s existing subscription. Both subscriptions may qualify as paid circulation provided the following stipulations are met:

• The individual is notified a second publication is being added at time of renewal
• A qualifying price is being paid for all publications in the sale
• Either of the following criteria are met:
• The consumer must opt-in to the added publication by paying an incremental amount for the additional subscription or the option to reduce the amount paid if the subscriber chooses not to take the additional subscription.
  or
• When the consumer is not provided with the option to opt-in/opt-out of the additional subscription through incremental pricing, no reference or statement may be made in the promotion that infers the added publication be “free” or at no additional cost, or similar language.

Examples of frequently used combination sales and add-on offers. (PDF*)

Newspapers may reprint and sell their own editorial content on a stand alone basis, without invoking the Combination Sales rule, provided it is not offered for sale on a stand-alone basis until after the publication date of the newspaper that carried the editorial content.

An example of this would be a newspaper on Sunday, December 5 includes a section on 'What to See and Do On Your Winter Vacation.' This is their own editorial content, not a separate publication. On Monday, December 6, this section is put on sale as a stand-alone product for $1.00. The Sunday, December 5 newspaper sale would not be subject to the combination sales rule. A newspaper may continue to repackage and sell their own editorial content on a date following publication in the newspaper without invoking the combination sales rule.

For publications considering combination sales in a single-copy environment, please contact ABC’s publisher relations department to discuss requirements for these sales.

Posted 12/01/2004