The Federal Communications Commission has decided to look into a recent blackout on an Alabama television station during a “60 Minutes” broadcast after receiving complaints.

A Feb. 24 broadcast of a “60 Minutes” segment was interrupted on CBS affiliate WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala. The station has attributed the 12-minute blackout to equipment failure.

Republican FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday that the agency had received “some 20-odd complaints” regarding the broadcast.

“I have instructed the staff to handle this like we do all the other complaints,” Martin said. “I've asked the staff to send a letter (to the station) with the complaints attached, asking them to respond to it.”

Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps said on Monday he had asked the chairman to send a letter of inquiry to the station, the Associated Press reports.

The 12 minutes of signal loss occurred at the beginning of the broadcast of the 13-minute segment on Don Siegelman, a Democrat currently serving a 7-year term for corruption. The former Alabama governor was convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice charges in 2006.

The interrupted “60 Minutes” story suggested Siegelman had met his fate as a result of a Republican conspiracy. Prosecutors have denied such claims.

WHNT general manager Stan Pylant has said the problem was caused by a malfunctioning receiver.

Furthermore, the station aired the end of the 13-minute segment once the signal was restored and then showed the story in its entirety two more times, once later that day and again the following day.

“I don't think is fair to speculate about what might or might not have occurred,” Martin said. “We do have some complaints but we've also asked the broadcaster to respond to this.”

It remains to be seen what the FCC can do about the incident, since the agency usually deals with issues regarding indecency.