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It’s official. Sky, the leading pay-TV platform in the UK, is no longer a Murdoch company. The man most closely identified with the launch and development of the film and footie satellite giant, Rupert Murdoch, signalled his departure late last year, when his 21st Century Fox media behemoth agreed to sell most of its pay-TV and Hollywood studio assets, including a 39% stake in Sky, to Disney for $71bn.

Fox clearly preferred the Mouse to a competing approach from US cable and broadcast combo Comcast.

Set in 21st century London in the borough of Camden, the comedy follows eldest siblings Dylan and Dolly, parents Douglas and Delilah and the 97 younger puppies.

Actor and comedian Ben Bailey Smith will voice Spencer Sausage Dog, the side-kick of Portia Poodle, voiced by the singer Paloma Faith.

“I’m voicing a poodle who is dark, intense has tons of attitude. She is pretty much the coolest pup in Camden Town and loves taking centre stage when drama happens,” said Paloma Faith of her new role.

However it ends, the battle royal for the right to own most of the assets of 21st Century Fox, and all of Sky, reflects deep and significant trends in global media. The resolution (in favour of suitors Disney, Comcast or both) may end up being less important than what the outcome tells us about market dynamics.

This battle is about the response of legacy media to accelerating shifts in consumer behaviour and to the threats posed by the big digital disruptors. In a market where content and distribution are increasingly intermingled and global, size unlocks the prize.

The pair are among a talented roster of British talent who will feature in new animated comedy series, Sadie Sparks.

Launching on the Disney Channel in early 2019, the show follows 14-year-old Sadie, who finds out she has magical abilities and becomes a wizard in training – under the guidance of a very old, very grumpy rabbit Gilbert (Hound), who has been sent to help her harness her skills.

The season will feature a host of new content including That’s So Raven spin-off Raven’s Home as well as the Disney Channel premiere of DuckTales. Classic animated films such as Mulan and Aladdin are also part of the line up. 

Vampirina follows the Hauntley family, friendly vampires who have recently relocated from Transylvania to Pennsylvania.

The show focuses on lead character Vampirina (AKA Vee), as she adapts to a new school in the human world and it features a mixture of heartfelt storytelling, spooky fun and Broadway-calibre music.

Disney’s Descendants has become the channel’s most watched children’s TV movie since the hugely successful High School Musical was released in 2006.

The new content includes a modern animated series inspired by One Hundred and One Dalmatians, an animated space comedy, a dinosaur adventure series, and the return of hit shows DuckTales and Star Vs The Forces of Evil.

101 Dalmation Street, Disney Channel

A brand new eleven-part series will air next year on Disney Channel based on the Dodie Smith novel and Walt Disney film One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

The BBC has revealed that R2-D2 and C-3PO will be joined by Warwick Davis (who played the Ewok Wicket in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) for a special, one-off sketch.

The telethon, which has been running since 1980, will air its appeal show on Friday 13 November from 7.30pm on BBC One.

Details about the Star Wars segment are scarce, but the BBC has said that the characters will join Davis and the three will "attempt to find a worthy winner to help trigger the first BBC Children in Need totaliser of the night."