Before he was even 40 years old, other executives in the movie and entertainment industry wanted to write Ryan Kavanaugh off as a has-been. Determined to come back from having to close Relativity Media in 2016, Kavanaugh became the majority shareholder of Triller just three years later. While the media company closing its doors was not entirely in Kavanaugh’s control, he vowed to do things differently with his next business venture. He has kept that promise.
Triller and the Resurrection of Boxing
Boxer Mike Tyson may have been a household name during his prime, but at age 54, he needed some help from Triller Fight Club to get back in the limelight. About a year after he infused more than $28 million in capital into Triller, Kavanaugh reached out to Tyson and Roy Jones, Jr., who would be his sparring partner. The Triller team put together an all-star performance that included a boxing match between Tyson and Jones, Jr. in November 2020. The pay per view performance also included six matches between lesser-known boxers and several musical acts and celebrity performances.
The broadcast of the Tyson-Jones Jr. match was a huge success, resulting in 1.6 million downloads sold at a price of $49.99 each. However, that was only in the United States. The fight attracted more than 30 million viewers from around the world, making it the largest pay per view event for all of 2020. Because of the success of the endeavor, Triller Fight Club plans to broadcast six similar events each calendar year. The next boxing match broadcast featured Jake Paul against Ben Asken and aired in April 2021.
Triller Brings Some Top Names Onboard Thanks to the Creativity of Ryan Kavanaugh
When President Donald Trump announced that he wanted to ban Triller’s top competitor TikTok in the United States, the news spread like wildfire in the online entertainment industry. Kavanaugh took advantage of the attention to reach out to some of the most influential TikTok personalities. Because he could not offer performers much in the way of cash payments at first, Kavanaugh promised rent-free use of a house in California, New York, Florida, or Georgia. He also offered each of them free use of a leased vehicle, including the option to drive a Rolls Royce.
Kavanaugh Sees His New Life As Redemption
Before he experienced wild success with Triller and Triller Fight Club, Ryan Kavanaugh endured numerous health issues, more business deals that fell through, and a divorce. He states that he loves his life now and can no longer understand why he thought the money he earned and the social circle he ran in before was so important. Although he had to learn some lessons the hard way, Kavanaugh credits his defeats with pointing him towards where he stands today.
