Multi-media company Triller is throwing its hat back into the pay-per-view event  ring Saturday, working with PPV event purveyor In Demand to distribute via traditional linear TV a boxing and music event headlined by YouTube personality Jake Paul’s boxing match against former mixed martial arts fighter Ben Askren. The event, which retails at a suggested price of $49.95, also features musical performances from such artists as Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube. 

The event follows Triller’s successful Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. PPV fight/entertainment event this past November, which drew a reported 1.6 million PPV buys. Triller also recently announced a June 5 PPV fight card which will feature the return of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield to the ring against Kevin McBride, as well as a lightweight title fight between champion Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. 

I recently spoke to In Demand senior VP, programming and marketing Mark Boccardi about Triller’s influence within the PPV event category and how the company’s new boxing/entertainment strategy will affect traditional PPV boxing events going forward. Here’s an edited excerpt from our conversation. 

Picture This: What is your take on Triller’s approach to pay-per-view boxing events? 

Mark Boccardi: Boxing promoters have been forced to look at events differently, and that's a good thing. There is a tried and true way of doing things that still works, but I think when you look at the mix of sports and entertainment that Triller is doing, they are featuring legitimate pro boxers along with retired athletes and social media stars, as well as major music acts including Snoop Dog. That’s not to say that the traditional boxing way doesn't work, but when you have some opportunistic entrepreneurs who mix boxing and entertainment, it’s a combination that really does work. So when we look at this weekend, it’s a great way for us to leverage our decades of pay-per-view expertise and experience with what Triller brings to the table and grow an even broader fan base for the sport.

PT: You mention broadening the fan base -- are the viewers purchasing Triller events a new generation of PPV boxing consumers?

MB: Absolutely. We saw that with the Tyson event back in November. What we had was a huge pay-per-view number -- it was the eighth best pay-per-view event of all time. It was a remarkable number that wasn’t just made up of your traditional boxing fan base, nor was it  just a young, new fan base who wanted to watch the Jake Paul fight; it was a combination of the two. It was a perfect storm of attractiveness that turned it into a mega event. So with respect to this weekend and what Triller is doing, they are absolutely tapping into a new fan base, but I wouldn't say that they're not picking up the older fan base. I definitely think that there's widespread appeal for it,   but bringing in the new audience is really such a key point here. 

PT: Can this event generate a million PPV buys without the added appeal of a Mike Tyson or another marquee boxer? 

MB: We’ll see --  there are a number of boxing matches, and they have some big name musical acts from Justin Bieber to Snoop Dog to Doja Cat. I think that helps draw in a different fan base that would otherwise not be interested in a boxing event. We have everything aligning on our end in terms of distributor marketing support, Triller marketing support and social media support. The whole marketing machine is cranking. 

PT: Do events like this diminish the value and appeal of traditional PPV boxing events that don’t feature musical entertainment or social media celebrities?

MB: No, not at all. I really do believe that both scenarios can work. We’ve been busy over the last few months planning multiple pay-per-view events this year with several major fighters including Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Errol Spence and Gervonta Davis. These are the names that represent the future of boxing. I think we’re going to have a really busy summer and fall for boxing, and we really feel good about the future of PPV boxing. There’s a lot of pent up demand because there hasn’t been a lot of those big events lately. 

YouTube has greenlit a third season of its scripted series, Liza On Demand, part of a slate of original series, documentaries and specials announced during the company’s Television Critics Association Tour session Saturday. 

Liza On Demand stars YouTube star Liza Koshy and follows the exploits of Koshy and her roommates as she takes on various tasks and odd jobs while trying to get ahead, said the company.

YouTube also announced that it will partner with magician David Blaine for a live event later this fall. 

Other YouTube TCA announcements include a six-part documentary series that focuses on the last 50 years of Women’s Gymnastics debuting this summer; Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert which debuts March 31 and looks at two decades of performances and behind-the-scenes stories from the influential music festival; and Justin Bieber: Seasons, a 10-episode documentary series premiering Jan. 27 that chronicles the making of the singer’s new album as well as a behind the scenes look at Bieber’s private life. 

R&B/Pop music star Rihanna’s music video Work was the most ordered video of 2016, according to Music Choice and comScore.

The list, based on Music Choice video orders tracked by comScore’s Custom OnDemand Essentials from Jan. 1, 2016 through Dec. 31 2016 across TV and mobile devices, includes a second Rihanna song, Needed Me, which finished third. Last year’s top video, Silento’s Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) finished second on the list.

Justin Bieber also placed two videos on the list, while videos from Adele and Bryson Tiller also made the cut, according to Music Choice.

“Music Choice continues to be the premiere destination for fans seeking the best in music video entertainment,” comScore’s Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said in a statement.

Comedy Central sifted through the data on Monday night's Roast of Justin Bieber and determined it was the most streamed and most social of roasts, ever.

Some key metrics:

Accumulated over two airings, the Roast of Justin Bieber drew 5.8 million total viewers and 420,000 live streams, the latter making this the most live streamed ever (source: Nielsen, Adobe Site Catalyst).

The premiere was seen by 4.4 million total viewers and drew a 3.3 adult 18-49 rating, 5.8 adult 18-24 rating, 5.8 women 18-24 rating, 5.7 men 18-24 rating, 4.7 men 18-34 rating and 4.7 adult 18-34 rating, up double digits in all demos vs. Comedy Central Roast of James Franco. (Total viewers +42%; A18-49 +48%; A18-34 +39%, M18-34 +10%; M18-24 +30%.)

The roast was No. 1 in All TV with P18-34, P18-24, M18-49, M18-34, M18-24, W18-34, W18-24 (Nielsen via MultiTrak, Live+SD, based on Impressions).

It was No. 1 in cable with P18-49 (#2 in all TV) and W18-49 (Nielsen via MultiTrak, Live+SD, based on Impressions).

The #BieberRoast became the most social show on television,amassing more than 1.3 million mentions and more than 41 Roast-related trending topics, worldwide and in the United States

Roast of Justin Bieber social media content generated 6.9 billion impressions (source: Velocity Echo Social Graph: Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube; 1/20 to date).

There were 33 million total streams to date of Bieber Roast content across Comedy Central platforms (source: Adobe Site Catalyst, Youtube, Facebook, Whipclip and Snapchat, Jan. 20 to date).

Close to 2 million people generated more than 3 million posts, comments, likes and shares regarding the Roast of Justin Bieber, aka #BieberRoast, on Facebook (source: Facebook).