“TV networks may have plenty of flaws, but one thing they’re really good at is promoting other TV shows,” writes AllThingsD. But what about Netflix? The streaming service does not have experience promoting its own shows and does not have advertising support from TV networks. How will it advertise new shows like “House of Cards” (to launch in February) and “Arrested Development” (due in May)?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has “long argued that not being tied to a traditional TV network gives them a ton of freedom, since they don’t have to convince an audience to watch a certain show at a certain time,” reports AllThingsD. “In theory, they won’t care if lots of people watch ‘House of Cards’ on February 1, or if lots of people watch the show over the next couple years.”

“And they say they’ll primarily rely on Netflix.com to do the bulk of their promotion, by telling some subscribers — but not all subscribers — about the new shows,” notes the article. “We saw a taste of this last year, when the company trotted out ‘Lilyhammer,’ a kind of trial run for its original programming plans.

But during his earnings call last week, Hastings did say the company would try to attract attention in some cities, going through with a concentrated promotion to generate buzz about the shows.

Large markets like Los Angeles and New York will likely start to see these ads. How the site will promote on the Web isn’t clear yet.