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Home-Delivery Promotions Guidebook—Canadian Newspapers

Definitions


Home Delivery

Home-delivery circulation is defined as subscriptions purchased by individual consumers for personal use. A subscription is defined as the purchase of more than a single issue of a newspaper, either in print or electronic format.

Home-delivery copies are often delivered to subscribers in one of the following methods:

Basic Prices

A basic price is the price that anyone can purchase a subscription from the newspaper at any time. A newspaper establishes its own basic prices and discloses them in Paragraph 6 of the Publisher’s Statement.

Basic prices may be established for the following methods of distribution:

  • Mail
  • Home Delivery
  • Motor Route
  • Single Copy
  • Electronic Editions (effective 7/28/08)

Within each of these categories, one basic price may be established for each of the following:

  • ABC zone (city zone, retail trading zone, newspaper designated market, etc.)
  • Frequency of delivery (Sunday-only, seven-day, weekend-only, etc.)
  • Term (various subscription lengths such as one-month, 13-weeks, one-year, etc.)

Basic prices may not be established for specific editions of the newspaper or based on payment method.

See also Rule C 21.2 Prices.

Paid Circulation

ABC defines paid circulation as subscriptions and single copies paid at an amount of at least one cent, net of all considerations.

See Rule C 21.1 Paid Circulation Defined.

While Rule C 21.1 Paid Circulation Defined is the primary rule defining paid circulation, it is not the only ABC rule a newspaper must consider when creating home-delivery promotions. Rules also exist governing premiums, combination sales, frequency conversions, etc. Therefore, a newspaper must consider all other pricing rules applicable to the program they are developing.


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