Single-Copy Promotions Guidebook—U.S. Newspapers

Discounts

A newspaper may choose to sell its single issues at a price discounted from basic prices to encourage consumers to buy the newspaper.

Pricing

Single-issue sales of the newspaper may be sold at a discount of up to 75 percent off the single-copy basic prices. See the definition of paid circulation.

Promotional Material

All promotional material must:

• State the selling price of the newspaper.
• Reflect a qualifying price.

Example—Discounts

Reporting

Circulation generated from single-copy discounted sales is reflected in Paragraphs 1A, 2, and 6B of the ABC Publisher’s Statement.

In Paragraph 1A, the circulation is classified as Single-Copy Sales under Paid for by Individual Recipients. For individually paid circulation, ABC requires a newspaper to delineate between circulation sold at 50 percent or more of basic prices and circulation sold at less than 50 percent, but at least 25 percent of basic prices. Therefore, single-issue sales should be included in the appropriate price category based on the price the consumer actually paid for the newspaper.

In Paragraph 2, the circulation is classified as Single Copy (Individual), based on the specific ABC zone where the sale to the consumer occurred.

Paragraph 6B will include a disclosure of all single-copy sales at reduced prices. The disclosure will list the reduced prices at which the copies were sold and the quantity sold at each of those prices.