Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm are all under the Disney banner — and that’s partly why the studio already broke its annual box office record. But will the Mouse House now induct Netflix and with it the most popular and profitable streaming service?

A new report from TechCrunch suggests Disney is now eyeing to purchase Netflix, and the rumors seem to be intensifying after the announcement of AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner. While Netflix is king among the subscriber bases of platforms like Amazon, Hulu, and HBO Go, writer Peter Casthy argues it can’t match the content output the deal from AT&T affords. Plus, Disney is experiencing a massive decline in ESPN subscriptions.

netflix-logo

The site also notes that Bob Iger is getting ready to retire as Disney CEO in 2018, and a possible candidate could be Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings. Netflix and Disney are already in bed together with The Defenders series (a string of original series from Marvel), as well as getting the first run at a TV release for all live-action and animated films from Disney, beginning with this year’s slate. (Zootopia is already streaming on the platform.)

Meanwhile, Netflix also has goals of its own. The service wants to up its amount of original content to 50%, and it boosted its chance of entering the Oscars race by striking a deal with the iPic Entertainment movie theater chain to bring some of its films to theaters.

If talk turns into action and Disney does end up purchasing Netflix, one possible scenario could mean the entire Disney library — including shows on Disney Channel and Disney XD — could end up exclusively on Netflix. If that happens, they’d be even harder to beat. These seems like a scary prospect from a competing business’ standpoint.

netflix-disney-deal
Image via Disney

walt-disney-logo