Dealing content out to third-party platforms such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu has been good business for the Walt Disney Co. and other media companies, but Disney may be considering a future where it keeps a tighter hold on its content.

Disney DIS, -1.22% Chief Executive Bob Iger told investors at a meeting Wednesday that it’s unclear in the long term if Disney would continue to sell its shows to third-party distributors like Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -1.78% , Netflix NFLX, -0.05% and Hulu, which Disney co-owns with Comcast Corp. CMCSA, -0.70% and 21st Century Fox Inc. FOXA, -2.34% FOX, -2.67% .

“There is a tremendous amount, relatively near-term, meaning extra years of value to be mined from selling these episodes to third-parties,” Iger said, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. “We’ve declared that being in the TV production business — basically creating a television intellectual property — can be a really good business... whether we’ll continue to do that in the same way over the long-term, I think that’s unclear.”

See also:Disney earnings let Wall Street down, but analysts won’t let it go

Licensing content to third-party distributors has been a welcome revenue boost for media companies recently, as many have been suffering from a subscriber exodus. Late last year, analysts and industry experts began flashing warning signs, suggesting that while licensing deals were good for revenue, ultimately they build up brands like Netflix and eat away at traditional cable TV.

Iger’s comments suggest media companies are continuing to search for ways to invest in the future of their core business.

“Over the long-term, keeping the value of the platform or multichannel platform alive is critical and keeping all episodes of one series in one place on that platform could be a contributing factor,” Iger said.

Check out: Disney’s best successor for Bob Iger, may just be Bob Iger

Disney's Search for CEO Successor Could Be Costly

To the credit of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, they have ramped up their investment in wholly-owed original content. The three distributors garnered a total of 15 Golden Globe nominations for original content last year. Netflix earned nine nominations, including two for its new drama series “Narcos.” The company said Tuesday it’s agreed to give Univision Communications Inc. the rights to broadcast the entire first season of “Narcos” on its TV network.

Don’t miss:Robin Wright demands equal pay for ‘House of Cards’ — but gender wage gap widens

Netflix is hoping “Narcos,” which is based on the story of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and filmed in English and Spanish, will be a match for Univision’s primarily Hispanic audience and help promote and build brand recognition. Univision’s UniMás network will air Netflix’s original “Club de Cuervos.”

“No other media company understands Hispanic American audiences like Univision and this promotional partnership speaks to our ability to reach and engage our growth consumer with unmatched scale and depth,” said Univision Chief Executive Randy Falco in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Netflix declined to comment on terms of the deal.

Along with the Univison partnership, Netflix has teamed up with French TV network TF1 to air the Netflix original series “Marseille.” Whether the deals are technically licensing deals is unclear, but they show there is interest from some traditional TV networks in airing Netflix content.