Rules & ResourcesNewspaper Support Center
Third-Party Sales Guidelines - U.S. Newspapers (Effective April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010)
ADVANCE NOTICE TO ABC
Beginning Monday, July 27, 2009, publishers only need to complete third-party sales notification forms and submit them 14 days in advance to their PR manager if the average circulation generated from third-party sales programs represents four percent or more of the "total average paid circulation" on the most recently released Publisher's Statement.
- This applies if the four percent threshold is met for either combined daily or Sunday (not individual days of the week)
- If your third-party sales exceed four percent, then the average must also be at least 1,000 copies for either combined daily or Sunday.
- Combined daily refers to your Mon – Fri or Mon – Sat average, whichever is standard on your statement.
NOTE:
Regardless if you meet the above threshold, your audit manager reserves the right to request advance notification of your third-party sales at their discretion.
Notification Form (Microsoft® Word® Document)
Publisher Relations Contact List
Example #1:
Anytown News circulation from March 2009 P/S is as follows:
| Combined Mon-Fri | Sunday | |
| Third-party sales | 500 | 1,000 |
| Third-party sales barter | 100 | 0 |
| Total average paid circulation | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Total TPS/total average paid | 2.00% | 2.85% |
Since total third-party sales is less than four percent of the daily combined and Sunday averages, then this publication is no longer required to notify ABC of its third-party sales in advance.
Example #2:
Anytown News circulation from March 2009 P/S is as follows:
| Combined Mon-Fri | Sunday | |
| Third-party sales | 700 | 1,500 |
| Third-party sales barter | 200 | 300 |
| Total average paid circulation | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Total TPS/total average paid | 3.00% | 5.14% |
Since total third-party sales exceeds four percent on Sunday, then this publication is still required to notify ABC of its third-party sales 14 days in advance of the start of the program.
Example #3:
Anytown News circulation from March 2009 P/S is as follows:
| Combined Mon-Fri | Sunday | |
| Third-party sales | 1,200 | 1,000 |
| Third-party sales barter | 200 | 0 |
| Total average paid circulation | 30,000 | 35,000 |
| Total TPS/total average paid | 4.60% | 2.85% |
Since total third-party sales exceeds four percent of the daily combined average, then this publication is still required to notify ABC of its third-party sales 14 days in advance of the start of the program.
