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Looking into the third quarter of fiscal 2019, Meredith sees significant improvement in National and Local media group revenue performance: National Media Group total comparable advertising revenue is pacing down in the mid-single digits, a significant improvement when compared to recent quarters and in line with Meredith's historical and expected performance. This is true of brands in both the legacy Meredith and Time Inc. portfolios. Local Media Group non-political advertising revenue is pacing up in the mid-single digits, driven by the Professional Services, Media and Furnishings categories. Revenues from consumer related sources continue to increase, driven by favorable renewal of retransmission consent agreements representing one-third of Meredith's subscriber base.

Meredith announced it has repaid $700M of its debt so far in fiscal 2019 through January 31, 2019, including $573M of its 7-year Senior Secured Term Loan B and $127 million of its senior unsecured notes. The company continues to expect to achieve its goal to reduce debt by $1B in fiscal 2019. Meredith's total outstanding debt stood at $2.5B at January 31, 2019.

The Meredith Corporation Board of Directors on February 2, 2019, approved a 5.5% increase in its regular stock dividend to $2.30 per share on an annualized basis, an increase of 12c per share. The next quarterly dividend will be 57.5c and is payable on March 15, 2019, to shareholders of record on February 28, 2019.