Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC and ESPN, may boost ad sales from their broadcast of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, according to a UBS Securities LLC analyst. As reported by the Bloomberg News:

Playoff ratings this season are 31 percent higher than last year on ABC and 28 percent higher on ESPN, analyst Michael Morris wrote today in a report. Ratings gains will bolster ESPN, which gets the ad sales, ABC and its Los Angeles station KABC, he wrote. The four most recent finals featuring the Lakers had an average 11.4 rating, almost double that of the 2007 finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers, Morris said.

“Must-see, highly rated content is important for selling available advertising inventory in a potentially softening ad market,” says Morris. “Live sports are premium, DVR-resistant content that appeals to advertisers.”

Walt Disney is the second-largest U.S. media company. The Burbank, California based company has gained 3.2 percent per share in the New York Stock Exchange composite trading this year.

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