Virtual Press RoomBoard Actions
Summary of March 2010 Canadian Board Actions
Toronto (March 16, 2010)—The following are highlights of the actions taken by the ABC Canada Board Committee at its meeting on March 4. The Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) board of directors ratified the actions at its meeting held on March 10-12. (Note: The full update to ABC’s bylaws and rules is regularly made available on ABC’s website within weeks following each board meeting.)
BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS
Paragraph 3B Reporting Streamlined
Unanimous Consent – Effective March 15, 2010, for June 2010 Statements
The board gave unanimous approval to streamline Paragraph 3B Age of Source of ABC’s business publication reports by eliminating the requirement to report detailed source of data information, such as written, telecommunication, Internet or e-mail. Beginning with June 2010 statements, publishers will simply report a total for each non-paid circulation source.
To accomplish this, the board modified Rule D 105.3 Age of Source.
CONSUMER MAGAZINES
Board Revises Replica Digital Edition Guidelines to Accommodate New Technologies
Unanimous Consent – Effective March 15, 2010
Recent technological advances, including a variety of e-reader devices, have made it possible for consumer magazines to publish digital editions that include the print copy’s full editorial and advertising content while presenting the information in a format better suited for the specific distribution device and providing additional features that enhance the digital edition.
In light of these developments, the ABC board agreed to modify the definition of a replica digital edition to state that it must include the print edition’s full editorial and advertising content but can be reformatted to accommodate different delivery devices. The full editorial and advertising content must still be presented in a manner consistent with the print edition.
Magazine publishers interested in reporting replica digital editions that are displayed in a different format than the print edition can review the complete guidelines on ABC’s website. Members are also encouraged to contact their ABC Publisher Relations manager for a free and confidential evaluation.
The ABC board also clarified several other open issues surrounding the qualification and reporting of digital editions:
- Advertiser Opt-Out – If an advertiser elects to opt-out of advertising in a replica digital edition, the magazine can replace that advertisement with another advertisement and still qualify and report the digital circulation as a replica.
- Additional Advertising – If a consumer magazine is able to secure additional or enhanced advertising, above and beyond what was included in the print edition, the magazine may include that advertising in the digital edition and still qualify and report it as a replica.
- Photo Replacement – If a consumer magazine uses an editorial photo in the print edition but, for whatever reason, is not able to use that photo in the digital edition, the magazine cannot qualify and report the digital circulation as replica. It may be qualified and reported as digital non-replica circulation.
- Back Copies – The board affirmed that consumer magazines cannot serve back copies in the digital environment and qualify that circulation as paid or verified circulation on ABC statements.
The board also directed ABC’s magazine advisory committees to reconsider the classification and reporting of digital non-replica editions to include this circulation in the magazine’s total paid and verified circulation sum. Currently, digital non-replica copies are reported outside of the magazine’s aggregate total paid and verified circulation. This change in the board’s position reflects the growing interest many magazines are displaying in the myriad of e-reader and mobile platforms.
Scan-Based Trading Task Force Continues Work
For Information
Scan-based trading has been a subject of discussion in the magazine industry for the past few years. As the practice achieves greater acceptance and usage, several issues have arisen that may affect ABC reporting. The Magazine Directors’ Advisory Committee 
, the Magazine Buyers’ Advisory Committee , and a separate scan-based trading task force are engaging in regular discussions about the key issues, including the lack of issue-by-issue data from many scan-based systems and “shrink”—the difference between the sales calculated from the physical inventory and copies listed as sold in the scan system. All parties are working toward an industry resolution and intend to present a recommendation to the ABC board later this year.
NEWSPAPERS
Decision on Eligible Purchasers for Third-Party Sales Deferred
Deferred
The board deferred modifications to C 103.3 Third-Party Sales to allow for input from the Canadian Buyers Advisory Committee. The proposed change would extend the current definition of an eligible third-party purchaser to charitable organizations and building management (i.e., office buildings, malls, etc.)
Final Vote on Third-Party Sales of Electronic Editions Postponed
Deferred
The board also deferred a second revision to C 103.3 Third-Party Sales for input from the Canadian Buyers Advisory Committee. This recommended change would allow Canadian newspapers to qualify third-party sales of home-delivered electronic editions as paid circulation on ABC reports. Only those copies that were accessed by the recipient would be included on the reports. Publishers would maintain user access documentation to qualify the circulation.
For example, if an advertiser purchased electronic editions of a newspaper to distribute to its customer list for a one-month period and the customer only accessed three copies during the one-month period, only the three accessed copies would qualify as paid circulation.
ABC Board Agrees to Conduct an Advisory Vote of Newspaper Members Regarding Membership Eligibility Requirements
For Information
At the direction of an ABC board buyer task force, ABC recently conducted an online survey of its buyer members to gauge their interest in ABC audits of non-paid and TMC products. More than 90 percent of respondents agreed that it was in the industry’s best interest to independently verify the circulation of non-paid or freely distributed newspapers.
At its meeting, the ABC board of directors agreed to initiate a newspaper member advisory vote to evaluate ABC’s membership eligibility rules to lower or eliminate the current requirement that newspapers must have at least 70 percent of their total circulation as paid. The results of the nonbinding vote will be considered at ABC’s July board meeting.
Additional details about the advisory vote will be distributed to newspaper member representatives in the next month. Newspapers are encouraged to contact ABC’s at (224) 366-6341 to ensure the contact information for their member representative is up-to-date.
Canadian Committees Continue to Develop New Audit Program for Newspapers with Less Than 25,000 Circulation
For Information
The Canadian directors continued to endorse the concept of a customized audit service for newspapers with less than 25,000 total average daily paid circulation. Such a service would reduce costs, streamline the audit process and simplify rules and reporting for publishers.
While the ABC board of directors approved the launch of the Community Newspaper Audit program in the U.S. effective Jan. 1, 2010, the ABC Canada Board Committee will continue to develop a service specifically tailored for the Canadian market. As such, this topic will remain on the agendas of the ABC Canada Board Committee, the Canadian Newspaper Advisory Committee and the Canadian Buyers Advisory Committee.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
ABC Canada Board Committee Expanded
For Information
The board also agreed to expand the ABC Canada Board Committee to 13 members, up from its current 11-member roster. The group will add a media buyer and a magazine publisher specifically from the Quebec market in an effort to achieve broad membership representation on the committee.
Bylaws Modified to Give Media Committees More Oversight
Unanimous Consent – Effective March 10, 2010
The ABC board of directors agreed to make several changes to the way it reviews division-specific rules, report formats and exception requests. The board’s media committees will now handle the majority of these items. To accommodate this change in board structure, the directors approved edits to the following bylaws: Bylaw 2.6 Application for Membership—All, Bylaw 4.5 Meetings, Quorum, Attendance, Bylaw 9.1 Publisher, Bylaw 10.1 To Bylaws and Rules and Bylaw 10.3 Vote Required.
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Corporate Communications Contacts: | ||
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Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning, Communications and General Manager, ABC Interactive t: 224-366-6363 |
Manager, Communications t: 224-366-6365 |
Assistant Manager, Communications t: 224-366-6432 |
