The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is a non-profit organisation owned and developed by the

media industry Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informatio ...

. ABC delivers industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications, digital channels and events. The company also verifies data, processes and good practice to these and other industry-agreed standards (such as those set by

JICWEBS JICWEBS (the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards) was created by the UK and Ireland media industry to ensure independence and comparability of measurement on the web. In effect JICWEBS works in partnership with the ABCe, with JICWEBS decidi ...

). Established in 1931 by the

Society of British Advertisers A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

(an organisation which later became ISBA), ABC is a founder member of the International Federation of ABCs and was the first UK Joint Industry Currency (JIC) for the media industry. JICs are owned by the industry to provide transparent and independent audience measurement for each medium. In May 2020, the board of the ABC voted to allow national newspaper publishers the option to ‘opt out’ of reporting their circulation figures publicly.

Board

ABC is governed by a board consisting of advertisers, media agencies, media owners and trade bodies. They represent the differing interests of the media industry, agree new standards and make strategic decisions as to how ABC is run.

Reporting Standards Group

ABC has Reporting Standards Groups (RSGs) responsible for setting reporting standards for media products across each of the following sectors: national, regional, consumer, business, bulk distribution and Republic of Ireland. RSGs include representatives from media owners, media buyers and trade associations and typically meet three times a year. Changes to the Reporting Standards are generally agreed by consensus.

Chairman

Derek Morris was announced as ABC UK's new chairman in October 2016 and took up the position in December of that year. He replaced Sally Cartwright who had chaired the board since 2010.

Chief Executive

Simon Redlich has been the permanent CEO of ABC UK since 25 November 2016. He was previously announced as the interim CEO in January 2016, replacing Jerry Wright who stepped down from the role after more than seven years.

Activities

;Media brand measurement As a JIC, ABC creates census based trading standards to accurately reflect media activity across print and digital platforms. It then provides independent verification of media owner data to these standards. This data and related information is shown on the media owner's ABC Certificate and can also be viewed and sorted using digital tables. All visitors to the ABC website can search for and download a current certificate. This transparency and availability of data helps to facilitate the buying and selling of advertising space. ;Verification service ABC is an independent verification provider for other media industry organisations including JICWEBS, the EDAA and Counter for example. ABC's role is to check that media companies are meeting the standards set by these other organisations. ;Reporting ABC publishes a range of data reports across a number of industry sectors.

References

External links

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IFABC
the International Federation of ABC's {{Authority control Audience measurement Newspapers circulation audit Berkhamsted Business services companies established in 1931 1931 establishments in the United Kingdom Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Hertfordshire Publishing organizations Organizations established in 1931