ABC statement

Statement filed twice yearly by a periodical publisher to report statistical information about the periodical as required by either the audit bureau of circulations (ABC) or the business publications audit of circulations (BPA); also called publisher's statement. The statement must report information regarding the paid circulation on an issue-by-issue basis for a six-month period. ABC requires that the statement show circulation by source, type, location, and selling price relative to basic rate. BPA requires additional demographic information, such as the readers' occupations and the industries of employment in terms of the standard industrial classification (SIC) code. Used by advertisers when selecting periodicals in which to place advertisements, the publisher's statement identifies readers who would be exposed to their ads. The ABC consumer magazine statement is printed on pink paper and is sometimes referred to as the Pink Sheet. It is in use months before it is actually audited by ABC or BPA.

Publishers choose to file either an ABC statement or a BPA statement depending upon the type of advertiser they hope to attract. ABC statements are used primarily by consumer goods advertisers, BPA statements and by industrial goods advertisers. While it is possible to sell advertising space without publishing a statement, most advertisers prefer to do business only with publications that do provide an audited statement. See also abc (analyzed) issue; verified audit circulation corporation.