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Media & Entertainment

Japan's baseball league places several bets on its future

Fans will be asked to watch in hotel rooms and cheer by using in-app tipping

Yomiuri Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano throws against the Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome during Japanese professional baseball season opening day action on June 19. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)

TOKYO -- Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's biggest sports league, opened its 2020 season on Friday, but without fans in the stands due to the COVID-19 situation.

The lingering pandemic has prompted the 12 teams and their parent companies to come up with new ways to keep fans' interest and generate revenue. Some teams hope to have found potential solutions in internet streaming and virtual reality technology.

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