Rules & ResourcesNewspaper Support Center
Third-Party Sales Guidelines - U.S. Newspapers (Effective April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010)
LIMITATIONS
There are two limitations for third-party sales circulation.
- Limitation on third-party sales circulation in its entirety.
- Limitation on ‘sponsored’ third-party sales.
Overall Limitation
Bylaw 2.11 Paid Circulation, states:
‘A publication with paid circulation is hereby defined to be one of which 70 percent or more of the total distribution during a regular six-month Publisher Statement period…qualifies as paid circulation under the standards of the Bureau. For newspapers, third-party sales are to be excluded from paid circulation for membership eligibility purposes…’
This means the total average circulation for third-party sales and unpaid, combined, cannot exceed 30 percent of a newspaper’s total distribution.
EXAMPLE:
| Circulation Type | Average |
| Home-Delivery | 60,000 |
| Single-Copy | 25,000 |
| NIE | 2,000 |
| Employee | 500 |
| Hotels | 500 |
| Third-Party Sales | 11,000 |
| Unpaid | 1,000 |
| Total Distribution | 100,000 |
In this example, the third-party sales and unpaid distribution combined equals 12,000 copies. A total of 12,000 divided by the total distribution of 100,000 = 12 percent.
Since the total distribution for third-party sales and unpaid combined is less than 30 percent of the total distribution, the newspaper maintains its eligibility for ABC membership.
See also Rule C 3.3 Third-Party Sales, for information on direct vs. sponsored third-party sales.
