Time Warner Cable posts its political file online, so why the fuss, NAB?

If posting already-public information on political ad spending is so damaging to broadcasters, as the National Association of Broadcasters argues, then why has one of the country's biggest cable providers been doing it since 2010?

Back then, Time Warner Cable created an online portal to search information regarding political ads sold on its system. Initially the portal served only the east coast, but has since provided data nationwide since 2011, according to a Time Warner spokesman. The ad buy records are available as downloadable PDFs. Current law requires TV stations to keep political ad purchase orders on file at their stations — a rule that goes for broadcasters and cable networks alike.