Rules & Resources
Newspaper Support Center

Single-Copy Promotions Guidebook—Canadian Newspapers

Combination Sales

A single-copy combination sale is defined as:

  • The sale of a single issue of two or more different publications as a package.
  • Each publication in the sale is a priced product.
  • The combination package is sold for a single price.

A newspaper may be sold in combination with another newspaper or a periodical.

Three-stack Policy

For all single-copy venues where a newspaper is sold in a combination package, ABC requires each publication be made available for purchase separately.

This requirement is often referred to as the “three-stack” policy. There would need to be three stacks from which the consumer may choose – 1) combination package, 2) Publication A separately, 3) Publication B separately.

This three-stack policy applies to all of the various types of single-copy outlets where the combination package is sold including retailers, vending machines and hawkers.

Pricing

The selling price of the combination package cannot equal less than one cent for each publication in the sale.

In addition, the selling price of the combination must be at least:

  • 100 percent of the selling price for the publication with the highest individual selling price.
  • One cent for each additional publcation in the sale.

See Rule C 25.3 Combination Sales and Rule C 21.1 Paid Circulation Defined.

Promotional Material

All promotional material must:

  • State the publications involved in the combination.
  • State the selling price for the combination package.
  • Reflect a qualifying price.
  • Exclude any reference to any of the publications in the package as being free, no additional cost, bonus, or other synonymous language.

Examples—Combination Sales

Reporting

Circulation generated from combination sales is classified as single copy on the ABC Publisher's Statement.

Canadian Publisher's Statements delineate between circulation sold at 50 percent or more of basic and circulation sold at less than 50 percent of basic prices.

  • If the newspaper value is 50 percent or more of basic prices, the circulation is included in Paragraph 1A.

  • If the newspaper value is less than 50 percent of basic prices, the circulation is included in Paragraph 1B, with further disclosure in Paragraph 1G.

The value for each publication in a combination sale is determined in one of two ways:

  1. The stated value of each publication in the offer, if it exists.
  2. A pro rata of each publication's basic single-copy prices, if no individual values are stated.

For example:
Publication A and Publication B are sold in combination at single-copy venues for a price of $2.25.

Publication A basic price of $1.00=33% of total x $2.25 combo price=75¢
Publication B basic price of $2.00=67% of total x $2.25 combo price=$1.50
Total $2.00

For reporting purposes, the value of Publication A is 75¢ and the value of Publication B is $1.50.

In Paragraph 2, the circulation is classified in the proper reporting zone based on where the copies were purchased by the consumer.

Paragraph 8 provides an explanation of the combination sale including the name of the publications involved and the price(s) at which the combination package was sold.



<< Return to main Single-Copy Promotions Page