Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation—The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Meredith Corporation and its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries (Meredith or the Company), after eliminating all significant intercompany balances and transactions. Meredith does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements. The financial position and operating results of our foreign operations are consolidated using primarily the local currency as the functional currency. Local currency assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange as of the balance sheet date, and local currency revenues and expenses are translated at average rates of exchange during the period. Translation gains or losses on assets and liabilities are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) for complete financial statements. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in Meredith's Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended June 30, 2018, filed with the SEC. The condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2018, and for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, are unaudited but, in management's opinion, include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2018, was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire fiscal year. Reclassification—Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to fiscal 2019 presentation. Adopted Accounting Pronouncements— ASU 2014-09—In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (ASC 606) that updated and replaced existing revenue recognition guidance. The guidance includes a five-step framework to determine the timing and amount of revenue to recognize related to contracts with customers. Additionally, the guidance requires new and significantly enhanced disclosures about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows from customer contracts as well as judgments made by a company when following the framework. The Company adopted the standard including all updates made to the standard since original issuance, on July 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method. We applied the standard to all contracts open as of July 1, 2018. The cumulative prior period effect of applying ASC 606 was $2.4 million, which resulted in an increase to retained earnings upon adoption. The standard does not change the timing or pattern of revenue recognition for most of our revenue contracts with the exception of contracts with value-added items or those that require combination under the standard. Refer to Note 11 for further discussion on the impacts of the adoption of this accounting standard. We utilized various practical expedients offered by the guidance in our implementation. For the Company's contracts that have an original duration of twelve months or less, the Company does not impute interest to account for a financing element. For all contracts with an original term of twelve months or less and for performance obligations tied to sales-based or usage-based royalties, the Company has not disclosed the transaction price for the remaining performance obligations as of the end of each reporting period or when the Company expects to recognize this revenue. Finally, consistent with historical practice, the Company excludes amounts collected from customers for sales taxes from its transaction prices. ASU 2016-01—In January 2016, the FASB issued guidance to improve and simplify accounting for financial instruments. The updated guidance includes several provisions that are not applicable to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, with the exception of changes to fair value disclosure. Under the new guidance, public entities are no longer required to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used to estimate fair value of financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the consolidated balance sheets. It also requires public entities to use the exit price when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes. The guidance was adopted in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption of this guidance required a change in our disclosures only and did not have an impact on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. ASU 2016-15—In August 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update clarifying the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. The update is intended to reduce the diversity in practice regarding how certain transactions are classified within the statement of cash flows. The update was effective beginning in our first quarter of fiscal 2019 and was adopted retrospectively as required by the ASU. As a result of the update, the Company reclassified a cash outflow of $0.8 million from financing activities to operating activities in the three months ended September 30, 2017, related to contingent considerations paid in excess of that recognized as a liability on the date of acquisition. The update will not have a material impact on the classification of our future cash flows. ASU 2017-01—In January 2017, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that clarifies the definition of a business and adds guidance to assist entities in the determination of whether an acquisition (or disposal) represents assets or a business. The update provides a test to determine whether or not an acquisition is a business. If substantially all of the fair value of the assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the acquired assets do not represent a business. If this test is not met, the update provides further guidance to evaluate if the acquisition represents a business. The Company prospectively adopted the guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption did not have an impact to the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. ASU 2017-07—In March 2017, the FASB issued an accounting standards update on the presentation of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs. This guidance revises how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans present the net periodic benefit costs in their income statement and requires that the service cost component of net periodic benefit costs be presented in the same line items as other employee compensation costs. The other components of net periodic benefit costs must be presented separately from the line items that include the service cost and outside of the income from operations subtotal. As required by the standard, we retrospectively adopted the update on July 1, 2018, which resulted in an increase in Production, distribution, and editorial expense of $0.8 million and a decrease in Selling, general, and administrative expense of $0.2 million. Non-operating income of $0.6 million was established in the three months ended September 30, 2017, as this financial statement line was not previously included. We elected the practical expedient allowed by the update and utilized our previously disclosed components of net periodic benefit costs from the pension and other postretirement benefit plan note in our June 30, 2018, Form 10-K. For the three months ended September 30, 2018, the implementation of this guidance resulted in an increase in Selling, general, and administrative expense and an increase in non-operating income, net of $3.9 million, compared to that which would have been reported under previous guidance. ASU 2017-09—In May 2017, the FASB issued additional guidance related to changes in terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. This update provides guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718 – Compensation – Stock Compensation. This guidance was adopted in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows, or disclosures. ASU 2018-15—In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on accounting for costs of implementation activities performed in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. The amendments in the update align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 with early adoption permitted. The amendments in the update can be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company adopted this guidance prospectively, effective July 1, 2018. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the SEC issued a final rule that amends certain of its disclosure requirements. Specifically, the final rule modifies or eliminates disclosures that are redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated, or superseded in light of other SEC or U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements or changes in the information environment. Several aspects of the final rule are applicable to the Company but do not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The amendments were effective November 5, 2018, and were implemented in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Pending Accounting Pronouncements— ASU 2018-14—In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which adds, removes, and modifies disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. The update amends only annual disclosure requirements. Retrospective adoption of the update is required in fiscal 2022 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in our disclosures only and is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements. ASU 2018-13—In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which changes the fair value measurement disclosure requirements. The update removes, modifies, and adds certain additional disclosures. The effective date is the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted for any eliminated or modified disclosures. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in our disclosures only and is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements. ASU 2016-02—In February 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that replaces existing lease accounting standards. The new standard requires lessees to recognize on the balance sheet a right-of use asset, representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability for all leases with terms greater than 12 months. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures designed to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Treatment of lease payments in the statement of earnings and statement of cash flows is relatively unchanged from previous guidance. This standard is required to be applied using a modified retrospective approach, which gives the option of applying the new guidance as of the effective date with enhanced disclosure requirements for comparative periods presented under prior lease guidance, or applying the new standard at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. The FASB continues to issue amendments to further clarify provisions of this guidance. The standard, including the amendments made since initial issuance, is effective for the Company beginning July 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating our existing lease portfolios, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for the leases under the new standard. As such, the Company is currently evaluating the effect the guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation—The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Meredith Corporation and its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries (Meredith or the Company), after eliminating all significant intercompany balances and transactions. Meredith does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

The financial position and operating results of our foreign operations are consolidated using primarily the local currency as the functional currency. Local currency assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange as of the balance sheet date, and local currency revenues and expenses are translated at average rates of exchange during the period. Translation gains or losses on assets and liabilities are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) for complete financial statements. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in Meredith's Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended June 30, 2018, filed with the SEC.

The condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2018, and for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, are unaudited but, in management's opinion, include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2018, was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire fiscal year.

Reclassification—Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to fiscal 2019 presentation.

Adopted Accounting Pronouncements—

ASU 2014-09—In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (ASC 606) that updated and replaced existing revenue recognition guidance. The guidance includes a five-step framework to determine the timing and amount of revenue to recognize related to contracts with customers. Additionally, the guidance requires new and significantly enhanced disclosures about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows from customer contracts as well as judgments made by a company when following the framework.

The Company adopted the standard including all updates made to the standard since original issuance, on July 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method. We applied the standard to all contracts open as of July 1, 2018. The cumulative prior period effect of applying ASC 606 was $2.4 million, which resulted in an increase to retained earnings upon adoption.

The standard does not change the timing or pattern of revenue recognition for most of our revenue contracts with the exception of contracts with value-added items or those that require combination under the standard. Refer to Note 11 for further discussion on the impacts of the adoption of this accounting standard.

We utilized various practical expedients offered by the guidance in our implementation. For the Company's contracts that have an original duration of twelve months or less, the Company does not impute interest to account for a financing element. For all contracts with an original term of twelve months or less and for performance obligations tied to sales-based or usage-based royalties, the Company has not disclosed the transaction price for the remaining performance obligations as of the end of each reporting period or when the Company expects to recognize this revenue. Finally, consistent with historical practice, the Company excludes amounts collected from customers for sales taxes from its transaction prices.

ASU 2016-01—In January 2016, the FASB issued guidance to improve and simplify accounting for financial instruments. The updated guidance includes several provisions that are not applicable to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, with the exception of changes to fair value disclosure. Under the new guidance, public entities are no longer required to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used to estimate fair value of financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the consolidated balance sheets. It also requires public entities to use the exit price when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes. The guidance was adopted in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption of this guidance required a change in our disclosures only and did not have an impact on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

ASU 2016-15—In August 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update clarifying the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. The update is intended to reduce the diversity in practice regarding how certain transactions are classified within the statement of cash flows. The update was effective beginning in our first quarter of fiscal 2019 and was adopted retrospectively as required by the ASU.

As a result of the update, the Company reclassified a cash outflow of $0.8 million from financing activities to operating activities in the three months ended September 30, 2017, related to contingent considerations paid in excess of that recognized as a liability on the date of acquisition. The update will not have a material impact on the classification of our future cash flows.

ASU 2017-01—In January 2017, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that clarifies the definition of a business and adds guidance to assist entities in the determination of whether an acquisition (or disposal) represents assets or a business. The update provides a test to determine whether or not an acquisition is a business. If substantially all of the fair value of the assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the acquired assets do not represent a business. If this test is not met, the update provides further guidance to evaluate if the acquisition represents a business. The Company prospectively adopted the guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption did not have an impact to the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2017-07—In March 2017, the FASB issued an accounting standards update on the presentation of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs. This guidance revises how employers that sponsor defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans present the net periodic benefit costs in their income statement and requires that the service cost component of net periodic benefit costs be presented in the same line items as other employee compensation costs. The other components of net periodic benefit costs must be presented separately from the line items that include the service cost and outside of the income from operations subtotal.

As required by the standard, we retrospectively adopted the update on July 1, 2018, which resulted in an increase in Production, distribution, and editorial expense of $0.8 million and a decrease in Selling, general, and administrative expense of $0.2 million. Non-operating income of $0.6 million was established in the three months ended September 30, 2017, as this financial statement line was not previously included. We elected the practical expedient allowed by the update and utilized our previously disclosed components of net periodic benefit costs from the pension and other postretirement benefit plan note in our June 30, 2018, Form 10-K. For the three months ended September 30, 2018, the implementation of this guidance resulted in an increase in Selling, general, and administrative expense and an increase in non-operating income, net of $3.9 million, compared to that which would have been reported under previous guidance.

ASU 2017-09—In May 2017, the FASB issued additional guidance related to changes in terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. This update provides guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718 – Compensation – Stock Compensation. This guidance was adopted in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The adoption did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows, or disclosures.

ASU 2018-15—In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on accounting for costs of implementation activities performed in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. The amendments in the update align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 with early adoption permitted. The amendments in the update can be applied either retrospectively or prospectively to all implementation costs incurred after the date of adoption. The Company adopted this guidance prospectively, effective July 1, 2018. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the SEC issued a final rule that amends certain of its disclosure requirements. Specifically, the final rule modifies or eliminates disclosures that are redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated, or superseded in light of other SEC or U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements or changes in the information environment. Several aspects of the final rule are applicable to the Company but do not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The amendments were effective November 5, 2018, and were implemented in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

Pending Accounting Pronouncements—

ASU 2018-14—In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which adds, removes, and modifies disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. The update amends only annual disclosure requirements. Retrospective adoption of the update is required in fiscal 2022 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in our disclosures only and is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2018-13—In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which changes the fair value measurement disclosure requirements. The update removes, modifies, and adds certain additional disclosures. The effective date is the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted for any eliminated or modified disclosures. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in our disclosures only and is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2016-02—In February 2016, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that replaces existing lease accounting standards. The new standard requires lessees to recognize on the balance sheet a right-of use asset, representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability for all leases with terms greater than 12 months. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures designed to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Treatment of lease payments in the statement of earnings and statement of cash flows is relatively unchanged from previous guidance. This standard is required to be applied using a modified retrospective approach, which gives the option of applying the new guidance as of the effective date with enhanced disclosure requirements for comparative periods presented under prior lease guidance, or applying the new standard at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. The FASB continues to issue amendments to further clarify provisions of this guidance. The standard, including the amendments made since initial issuance, is effective for the Company beginning July 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating our existing lease portfolios, including accumulating all of the necessary information required to properly account for the leases under the new standard. As such, the Company is currently evaluating the effect the guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.