updated 7:14 p.m. ET Oct. 20, 2008

NEW YORK - First the Super Bowl, then the Stanley Cup finals, and the NBA finals, too.

The three championships played so far in the major team sports have drawn higher television ratings this year than in 2007.

Maybe that’s a reversal of a trend of shrinking viewership, or maybe it was just that all three boasted appealing matchups. Historic significance, traditional rivalries, big markets and national followings can make all the difference in an age of fragmented audiences.

Now comes a Phillies-Rays World Series lacking the elements that typically draw strong ratings.

But there is also evidence that TV sports viewing increases during tough economic times. People are more likely to stay home, watching TV is a cheap form of entertainment, and sports offers an escape.

The Olympics earned big ratings in August. Michael Phelps’ pursuit of history and the live broadcast of key events in the U.S. certainly helped, but NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol suggested before the Beijing Games that broader forces would be at play.

“I think the country is really ready for this,” he said. “It isn’t exactly a joyful time in America right now — $4 gas, people who can’t afford vacations, wild prices on food, and so forth. They’re really looking for something to cheer for.”

During the most recent economic downtown in 2001-02, TV viewership for live sports events increased slightly, said Tom Ziangas, head of Nielsen Sports.

The flip side of the poor economy for the networks is that no matter how high the ratings might be, companies may simply not have the money to buy ads. Because so many sponsors sign long-term deals, the networks are less vulnerable to short-term fluctuations.

The one exception is if a series goes to six or seven games.

Special feature Breaking down Phillies vs. Rays Position-by-position comparisons, pitching matchups, prediction, more

“To this point, we’ve been very fortunate,” Fox Sports president Ed Goren said during the NL championship series. “But, again, you can’t feel good about where you are because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

The NLCS, aired by Fox, lasted five games, so Goren never did find out what would have happened. The ALCS, on TBS, went seven. TBS said its existing advertisers extended their buys to Games 6 and 7.

Goren is certainly hoping to see what a Game 6 and 7 would look like on Fox during the World Series. His network got the drawing power of the Red Sox last year, but then again they won in a sweep.

“As important as anything else is the number of games, the volume of games,” he said on a conference call Monday. “If we get six or seven games, we’ll out-rate last year’s Red Sox World Series.”

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