The primary revenue stream for unauthorized streaming sites is advertising. However, this isn't the standard benign advertising seen on news websites. These sites often rely on aggressive "pop-under" ads, redirects, and sometimes malvertising (malicious advertising). Users clicking the play button might inadvertently trigger a download, redirect to a phishing site, or expose their device to ransomware. Even if the video plays, the hidden scripts running in the background can be dangerous.
The interface typically mimicked legitimate services, offering categories such as: hdmovies.tv