From among the magazine websites that do not make a profit, the survey found that it was nearly twice as likely that their budget is controlled by the editor-in-chief of the print magazine.
In contrast, it is the publisher or web editor who controls the purse strings in 67 per cent of profitable websites.
Websites with independent web editors, who are also in charge of the budget, are much more likely to keep up with technological developments.
Over half of the consumer magazines with a monthly traffic of more than 1.5m unique users are profitable, according to the survey. About 83 per cent of magazines said advertising is their most important revenue source.
About two-thirds of the magazine websites that do make a profit offer their content for free.
Around 665 consumer magazines participated in the survey, conducted by research company Abt SRBI for the CJR.
