By Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist Published Feb 07, 2014 at 3:05 PM

February is a sweeps month for area TV stations. Every 15 minutes is measured to see how many in a sampling of households in the market are tuned into which station.

However, this winter, we have the Olympic Winter Games, which means the NBC cluster of stations – including local affiliate WTMJ-TV Ch. 4 – should see the ratings bump. More people should watch the local newscasts because it is simply on the channel they were watching skiing or figure skating on.

The opening ceremonies last night, and the WTMJ newscast got a bump in viewership. "The Tonight Show," the last one with Jay Leno at the desk, also had a ratings bump for his finale.

The other local TV stations will do everything they can – bigger investigative stories, primetime shows with special guests from the network, more local commercials saying who they are – to get people to watch. But, they know the Olympics are hard to beat, and many will just do their best while competing with the winter edition of the world’s best competing against each other in various games.

The games themselves will be spread throughout different spots on the dial – I should just start saying electronic menu guide, but I love the old-school memories of my dad telling me to get off the couch to walk to the television set to actually turn the dial. My brother and I were literally the remote control.

NBC will have events on the local channels, like I mentioned for us is WTMJ, and will also have events on the NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC and USA Network. So, check your guide for where they appear depending on if you are watching in standard or high definition and who your cable subscriber is.

Time Warner Cable is working with NBCUniversal to cluster a number of the stations together starting last night and going through Feb. 23 for the group’s coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia.

"Time Warner Cable’s video subscribers will have access to NBCUniversal’s unprecedented 1,500+ hours of Winter Olympic programming, including every Olympic competition, live and on-demand and across multiple platforms.  In addition to enjoying extensive coverage on the networks of NBCUniversal, including NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), MSNBC, CNBC and USA Network, subscribers can stay connected to the Sochi Olympic Winter Games wherever they go via NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app, America’s premier Olympic digital destinations," a release from Time Warner Cable said.

For those who watch in HD, here’s the breakdown:  NBC will be on Ch. 1465, NBC Sports Network Ch. 1466, MSNBC Ch. 1467, USA Ch. 1468 and CNBC on Ch. 1469. The stations will also remain at their current locations as well.

"We are excited to bring our customers NBCUniversal’s 1,500 (plus) hours of unprecedented multiplatform coverage of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics," said Mike Angus, the senior vice president and GM of video for Time Warner Cable.

"Access via Time Warner Cable HD, on demand, and high speed Internet services maximizes the NBCUniversal Olympic viewing experience for our subscribers."

It also ensures people can find different sports they want to watch on different channels.

SPECIAL REPORT: FOX News Channel will present a new one-hour episode of the "Fox Files" at 8 p.m. on Sunday featuring a variety of reports from Greta Van Susteren, Claudia Cowan and Griff Jenkins.

On the program, Van Susteren travels to Kurdistan, Iraq, to witness how the American charity Samaritan’s Purse and Reverend Franklin Graham are helping refugees who are fleeing the Syrian civil war. Additionally, on the 50th anniversary of the murder of Kitty Genovese, Cowan investigates "The Bystander Syndrome" and sits down with Genovese’s childhood friend May Sisk and former NYPD detective Charles Prestia to discuss the murder case.

Finally, Jenkins gets a rare look inside America’s defenses at Fort Greely, Alaska, and speaks to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Lt. Col. Michael Hatfield and Director of the East Asia Non-Proliferation Program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis regarding the growth of threats by rogue nations.

Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist

Media is bombarding us everywhere.

Instead of sheltering his brain from the onslaught, Steve embraces the news stories, entertainment, billboards, blogs, talk shows and everything in between.

The former writer, editor and producer in TV, radio, Web and newspapers, will be talking about what media does in our community and how it shapes who we are and what we do.