Time Warner Inc. acquired a 10 percent stake in Hulu LLC, casting an eye to the future of TV even as its second-quarter results proved there’s still plenty of life in the traditional cable model.

Time Warner paid $583 million for its 10 percent stake in the web-streaming service, according to a person familiar with the matter. That stake doesn’t equal the stakes of Hulu’s current investors 21st Century Fox Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal. Time Warner decided against taking a larger stake in Hulu partly because of regulatory concerns, said the person, who declined to be identified discussing non-public information.

Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes is spending billions to create original must-see programming and acquire sports rights to attract TV viewers and extract higher fees from distributors like AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. On Wednesday, the company reported second-quarter sales gains at both its HBO premium channel and Turner unit. At the same time, Bewkes is trying to win over the growing legions of cord-cutters who don’t pay for cable or satellite TV.

The Hulu deal is part of a big digital push by Time Warner, which includes a web-only version of HBO and making channels available in slimmer online packages like Dish Network Corp.’s Sling TV.

Time Warner’s investment in Hulu will help build up a viable third player in the growing market for online-only video services led by Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. -- and bring much-needed cash to fuel Hulu’s growing ambitions in original programming. In a separate affiliate deal announced Wednesday, Hulu will carry Time Warner’s channels in its upcoming live TV service.

The shares rose 3.6 percent to $78.50 at 7:45 a.m. before the official market open Wednesday.