A little more than half the world's consumer magazines said their Web sites are profitable, up from about a quarter two years ago, according to the results of a small survey released on Tuesday by a trade group.
Another 17 percent said they were losing money, down from 38 percent in 2003, the magazine publishing group International Federation of the Periodical Press reported.
The study comes at a time when advertisers are shifting more of their spending from television to the Internet.
About two-thirds of consumer magazine Web site revenues came from display advertising, the study found. The rest was from sponsorship, e-commerce, subscriptions and syndication.
"Most publishers of successful magazine Web sites have gained new advertisers on the Web who do not advertise in the print products," the report said.
The survey was based on information from only 71 Web sites, but represented some of the world's biggest publishers including magazines owned by Conde Nast, Emap, Axel Springer, Reader's Digest, Hachette Filipachi, IPC and Time Out Group.
