DirecTV made a bid for the online video service Hulu LLC, while Time Warner Cable Inc. offered to acquire a stake in the company, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Both suitors met a July 5 deadline for binding proposals set by Hulu’s board, said the people, who sought anonymity because the sale process is private. The terms of the offers weren’t known. Hulu is owned by Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Comcast Corp.

Pay-television systems are vying for Hulu, which offers a lower-cost option than the video subscriptions on cable and satellite systems. The company provides a limited free version of its service on computers and offers an $8-a-month subscription with access to more programs on more devices.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable TV service, is seeking to become an investor alongside the current owners, an alternative to an outright sale of the video service, which had more than 4 million paying customers as of the first quarter. In addition to DirecTV, Chernin Group and AT&T Inc. submitted a joint bid.

Meredith Kendall, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Hulu, declined to comment as did Robert Mercer, of El Segundo, California-based DirecTV. Maureen Huff, with New York-based Time Warner Cable, didn’t return calls seeking comment.

AT&T operates the U-verse pay-TV service and Chernin Group, producer of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” film and TV’s “New Girl,” has invested in startups such as Tumblr Inc. and Flipboard Inc. Officials of AT&T and Chernin declined to comment last week.

Technology