Key Facts

• Verizon and the UK's BT Group have agreed to create a joint venture for their international businesses, effectively taking the low-margin units off their books.
• Comcast announced that it will spin off NBCUniversal and its European media unit, Sky, into a separate, independently traded company, allowing it to focus on its core cable-TV, broadband, and wireless businesses.
• The merger and spin-off deals enable Verizon and Comcast to concentrate on their home markets, with Verizon and BT Group shedding their low-margin international units and Comcast separating its media and telecom operations.