The FCC was reached by an anonymous complaint that Sinclair Broadcast Group was airing paid programming during news programs without disclaiming to viewers that the stories were actually sponsored ads.
In response, the FCC has slapped Sinclair Broadcast Group with a fine of $13.4 million.
According to the FCC, the sponsored ads were run as news stories no fewer than 1,7000 times.
Variety reports that this fine is the largest ever assigned by the FCC for violation of sponsorship identification rules.