Latest Circs from ABC FAS-FAX Available on PlanET from Mediaspace Solutions

Business Wire, Nov 23, 2004

NORWALK, Conn. -- Newspaper advertising placement specialists Mediaspace Solutions(R) (MSS) announced that they have updated their online media-planning tool PlanET(TM) with circulation data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation's (ABC's) September 31, 2004 FAS-FAX report, released in early November. The announcement was made by MSS Director of Research and Planning Jose Rodriguez.

"This update is part of our regular data maintenance," Rodriguez said, "but it is made more significant by recent developments regarding newspaper circulations. We wanted advertisers and ad agencies to know that they can access these latest circulation figures on PlanET. Also, all plans created in PlanET since November 11 reflect this data."

PlanET, a free online media planning and estimating tool, gives users access to comprehensive information regarding the circulation, market penetration and technical specifications of over 2,600 newspapers the company tracks in its database. After users select newspapers and create plans, the system returns an instant estimate for that plan.

FAS-FAX, the industry standard for newspaper circulation reports, is, in fact, a survey of newspaper-submitted estimates that ABC subsequently verifies via audits. The September 31, 2004 FAS-FAX report includes daily and Sunday circulation figures from 841 and 662 newspapers, respectively. On average, circulations are down 0.9% daily and 1.5% Sunday with roughly one third of all newspapers reporting increases.

Rodriguez said that the FAS-FAX circulation update represents a small portion of the data that MSS tracks. "We get over 2,000 rate cards annually, and we get every data point into our database. These ABC papers, while they include all the biggest newspapers, are only about 25% of publications in our database." In addition to traditional daily newspapers, MSS also tracks weekly newspapers, alternative newspapers, "commuter" newspapers, Spanish-language newspapers, and a variety of other niche publications.

About Mediaspace Solutions -- Mediaspace Solutions(R) (MSS) is a privately held company that plans, buys, places and verifies newspaper advertising campaigns for agencies and advertisers nationwide. Combining expert knowledge, powerful technology and a revolutionary pricing model, MSS simplifies the process of buying local newspapers, bringing efficiency to agencies and advertisers and delivering an incremental revenue stream to publishers. MSS PlanET(TM), the company's online newspaper planning and estimating tool, provides advertisers with instant access to key planning information. The company also offers MSS Standby(TM), a service that lets advertisers determine the price at which they offer ads to newspapers. For more information, visit the company's website at www.mediaspacesolutions.com.