We asked Reed Hastings if Disney was talking to Netflix, but he didn’t want to comment

Wall Street loves the idea that Netflix will eventually sell to a much bigger company. It’s a recurring theme that periodically lifts Netflix’s stock, but never materializes.

For the last week or so, investors have been floating the idea that Disney is a potential Netflix buyer.

It doesn’t seem likely, but I asked CEO Reed Hastings about it this morning anyway, after he spoke at a conference sponsored by the New Yorker: Was Netflix in talks with Disney?

“Can’t comment,” he said.

I tried again. Has Netflix been in talks with Disney in the past? “Can’t comment.”

So feel free to interpret that one any way you want. The most logical way is to assume that Hastings, like most CEOs of public companies, makes a practice of never commenting on M&A reports. That said, if he really wanted to quash this one, he could have just said “No.”

More context: Earlier this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger fielded questions about whether he was interested in Netflix or Twitter.

Like Hastings, Iger didn’t answer the question directly. But he did make comments about the importance of digital distribution and a direct-to-consumer relationship for his company, which made some observers think he was interested in pursuing Twitter.

But as Recode reported Wednesday, Disney is not going to bid for Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via