ABC Approves Changes to Circulation Reports

Based on the recommendations by a committee consisting of publishers and advertising executives, the Audit Bureau of Circulations will change the way newspaper circulation is counted.

The changes are meant to provide marketers with more useful information, according to the ABC.

The audit process will be streamlined with the changes, and communication between newspaper buyers and sellers will be improved, according to Craig Sinclair, vp of advertising at Walgreens.

Based on the recommendations, the ABC will:

• Adopt a paid/verified reporting model where “other paid circulation” (e.g., copies purchased by sponsors or distributed to schools and newspaper employees) will be reported as “verified” circulation.
• Implement a flexible pricing model where newspapers will be considered “paid” by ABC regardless of the price for which a copy is sold. This will bring ABC’s U.S. newspaper division in line with current practices in its periodical divisions, as well as with price qualification standards in the Canadian newspaper market.
• Reclassify copies distributed at hotels and subscriptions purchased by businesses for a group of employees to a new paid-circulation category.
• Allow newspapers more flexibility to convert current home subscribers to a greater frequency.
• Revise ABC Publisher’s Statements and Audit Reports to provide a summary of the total average circulation (paid and verified) and the distribution by channel, such as newsstand sales and total home-delivery copies.

The actions come on the heels of the successful launch last week of Audience-FAX, the new initiative that provides for broader reporting of newspaper distribution, print readership and online audience
measurements.

While specific rules and implementation details are to be further defined at the next ABC meeting in March, the board has agreed to employ the changes over the next three years in the U.S.