The Walt Disney Company has reached a deal with online video site Hulu to put its ABC programming on the web property.

Disney joins NBC Universal, Fox parent News Corp and Providence Equity Partners in the venture. As part of the deal Disney has agreed to take a nearly 30 percent stake in Hulu.

The deal will add to Hulu’s programming line-up with full-length episodes of popular programs like “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Scrubs,” “Ugly Betty,” “General Hospital,” and “The View.” The programs will be streamed on Hulu on an ad-supported basis.

“From our landmark iTunes deal to our pioneering decision to stream ad supported shows on our ABC.com player, Disney has sought to meet the constantly evolving viewing habits of our consumers, and today’s Hulu announcement is the next important step in that ongoing journey,” said Robert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

Select programs from the Disney Channel including “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Phineas and Ferb” will also be available on Hulu.

In March Hulu became the third most popular online video site for the first time according to comScore. The site had 380 million videos viewed representing a market share of 2.6 percent. Hulu also attracted 41.6 million viewers during the month. The partnership with Disney will only lead to even stronger growth.

“Hulu’s growth has been fueled in part by the combination of a compelling user experience, increased consumer awareness of the brand, and an overall market trend toward viewing long-form online video content,” Andrew Lipsman, Director, Industry Analysis, comScore, told WebProNews.