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CHICAGO (AFX) - Most media and entertainment stocks closed modestly higher Friday, with Interpublic Group advancing following an upgrade by Merrill Lynch.
The advertising and marketing agency rose 1.6% to close at $10.22 after Merrill Lynch's Lauren Rich Fine lifted her rating to neutral from sell.
In a note to investors, she wrote that although the company "has yet to embark on a new business spree, our concern that it might lose more major accounts after losses earlier in [2005] has also not been an issue."
Among other advertising shares, Omnicom Group rose 89 cents to close at $85.93.
Elsewhere, DirecTV jumped 3.1% to close at $14.76 after it revealed on Thursday it plans to offer on-demand airings of Fox and FX cable network shows such as "The Shield" and "24" as early as 48 hours before they're seen on those networks for $2.99 per episode, beginning in March.
Fox Entertainment Group is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. . News shares rose 21 cents to $16.51, a gain of 1.3%. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see
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