—Showtime to premiere TV shows on Web: And another reason for cable providers to complain about the networks’ premium content going to the Web ... Showtime is promoting its new series The United States of Tara by putting the first episode on the Web for free; the season openers of The L Word and Secret Diary of a Call Girl will follow. The clips will be available on more than 100 outlets, according to Mediapost, including CBS’ TV.com, YouTube, Facebook and iTunes, with mobile distribution on Verizon’s VCast, among others.

SEE ALSO: Broadband Content Bits: ESPN360; PG Porn; TWC-ActiveVideo; Govt Online; NBCU-60Frames; Brides.com

—Congress invades YouTube: Continuing with the trend Barack Obama set with his digital-centric campaign and Change.gov, YouTube announced today that legislators from both the Senate and the House are uploading video to two dedicated video channels, The Senate Hub and The House Hub. The clips include floor speeches and committee hearings, as well as “behind the scenes” footage of the legislators’ offices. Last October, the House and Senate adopted new rules allowing them to post content outside of the .gov domain.

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