The Boston Red Sox’ sweep of the Colorado Rockies made for ho-hum baseball, as World Series ratings are down from last year in Canada, where the four-game series aired on Rogers Sportsnet.

The Sox’ 13-1 routing of the Rockies during game one at Fenway Park on Oct. 24 drew 459,000 viewers, setting the tone for the rest of the series, with games two and three netting a soft 512,000 and 423,000 viewers, respectively.

Sunday’s final game, which Boston won 4-3, scored 532,000 viewers, for a series average 482,000. The numbers reflect a decline in audiences from last year’s series between Detroit and St. Louis, which drew an average 535,000 viewers to Sportsnet. It was the Rockies’ first World Series appearance.

The story is reportedly different in the US, where numbers are up from last year on broadcaster Fox, though overall ratings are the second lowest in baseball TV history. The series drew an average 17.1 million viewers to Fox, up from 15.8 million last year, according to Variety.

Meanwhile, in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors’ 2007/08 season got underway yesterday, with the opening match against Philadelphia airing on The Score, which has the most games on its schedule at 30. CBC kicks off its Raptors coverage on Sunday, Nov. 4, while TSN joins the party on Nov. 6 with its first Raptors broadcast of the season. In addition, Sportsnet will carry 12 Raptors games beginning Nov. 9.

From Playback Daily