The creators of "South Park" have given their entire library of shows to Hulu for free streaming in advance of "South Park's" Season 18.

The streaming service will make all 17 seasons available for free until the Sept. 24 premiere of the Comedy Central cartoon's 18th season. After that, Hulu Plus subscribers will have access to the entire "South Park" library. New episodes will be available next day on both Hulu and Hulu Plus, the company announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday. 

Comedy Central currently offers streaming access for all 17 seasons on the South Park Studios website, which will continue to stream the full library until the season18 premiere. The website will then transition to offering a revolving selection of free episodes, with video and advertising powered by Hulu. 

"South Park has revolutionized TV and pushed boundaries with unparalleled topicality and daring humor," said Hulu content chief Craig Erwich. "South Park has been one of the top 10 most popular shows of all time on the platform. We're thrilled to offer the series to fans in its entirety." 

Added creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone: "This is a natural partnership for us. We are excited that the entire library will be available on Hulu and that the best technology around will power South Park Digital Studios." 

The deal is a key step in Hulu's effort to broaden beyond next-day TV by building out a robust library of acquired content and originals. In his first year on the job, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins has made exclusive content a focus for the company.

Fellow animated series "The Simpsons" was made available to stream in full, all 530 episodes from 24 seasons, in January via the FXNOW TV Everywhere app.

"We were always looking at Hulu's player with jealousy, with envy," said Stone. "We want our show to always have the best possible presentation. I think in the back of our minds we were thinking about how we could partner with Hulu." 

Stone said that the duo is still determining how they will rotate episodes through the South Park Studios website, but noted that the goal is for viewers to visit the website every day to watch an episode or two without running out of new shows to watch.

Added Stone: "We've got 250 episodes now, so we've got plenty to feed different windows and different experiences."  

"Content came out of its hole, saw its shadow and ran back down the hole for protection," Mr. Stone said over coffee in New York last week. "What we do is expensive, it takes a lot of people, and it makes sense to put it through windows in a way that produces a lot of value. We do what we do because we act like we own the stuff and try to surf whatever wave is out there."

"This is a tent pole that will help us cut through the clutter; it's a great deal for both of us," said Craig Erwich, head of content at Hulu. "We have a great user experience, and we already know how popular the show has been with our viewers based on data we already have. This is a deal for all of the people who have ever watched 'South Park.' And that's a lot of people."

"Trey and I are in a unique position because we share ownership, so we have been privy to meetings where artists aren't usually invited," Mr. Stone said. "When we talked to people from Silicon Valley, it was like meeting with Martians who were telling us that they were taking over and our way of life was basically over." 

"We love that Hulu has two sources of revenue - advertising and subscriptions - and that they were willing to work with us to make sure that the new stuff was always available to fans," Mr. Stone said.

"When we do those meetings with the suits, all I really care about is whether our fans have access to the body of work," he said. "I can remember back when we did a deal with Rhino Records to put our stuff on VHS tapes and I thought, 'This is it. What we made is going to live forever.' "

"South Park" Season 18 premiers September 24, 2014.