The fireworks may be over, but what happened on July 5th, 2025, at Dodger Stadium felt like the opening pitch to a new era. In a collaboration that turned heads across the entertainment industry, hololive night returned to Los Angeles for its second year—but this time, it made VTuber history.
COVER Corporation and the Los Angeles Dodgers staged the first-ever two-way livestream between a major sports venue and a VTuber audience, marking a seismic shift in how anime, baseball, and digital fandoms can collide under real stadium lights.
To better understand where this movement is heading next, we caught up with Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of COVER Corporation and the visionary leader affectionately known as “Yagoo.” His answers make it clear: this was just the warm-up.COVER Corporation and the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t just co-host a theme night. They staged the first-ever two-way livestream between a major sports venue and a VTuber audience, marking a seismic shift in how anime, baseball, and digital fandoms can collide under real stadium lights.
A Collaboration Worth Repeating
Q: After last year’s groundbreaking collaboration with the Dodgers, what motivated you and your team to bring hololive night back to Dodger Stadium—and what made this year’s return even more special?
Motoaki Tanigo: “Last year’s event created something very special—a space where both Dodgers fans and hololive followers could discover each other. The turnout, the reaction, the joy we witnessed told us that we had only scratched the surface. So, this year, we wanted to amplify everything—from talent appearances to live interactivity—and open the doors even wider.”
That effort paid off. The second hololive night brought an even deeper level of fan engagement, proving that virtual idols could not only share the field with athletes, but move crowds in ways that transcend screens.
Broadcasting From the Bleachers to the World
Q: This marked the first time in VTuber history that a livestream took place both to and from a major sports stadium. What were some of the technical or creative challenges in making that happen—and how do you see it pushing the boundaries of virtual entertainment?
Motoaki Tanigo: “Technically, this was one of the most complex productions we’ve ever attempted. We had our Japanese teams awake through the night to sync broadcasts between our Tokyo studio and the Dodger Stadium control room. A lot could have gone wrong—but because we prepared step by step, it became possible.”
From high-speed connectivity to live avatar rendering in the stadium feed, the team tackled a stack of firsts. What emerged was a proof of concept for global, bi-directional VTuber broadcasting in real-world venues.
Q: This event featured co-branded merch, themed packaging, and special trading cards. How does hololive ensure these collaborations stay authentic while appealing to wider audiences?
Motoaki Tanigo:Â “We take fan culture seriously. That means involving our talents and creative teams directly in the design process. Every trading card, every food wrapper, every stadium activation needs to feel like it belongs to both hololive and the Dodgers. We want these collaborations to create real emotional resonance.”
From AR cutout photo ops to limited-edition Dodgers x hololive cards, the 2025 event felt like a love letter to both baseball tradition and otaku culture. Fans lined up early not just for the game, but for the merch drops.
Looking Ahead: Stadiums, Sports, and the Future of hololive
Q: Looking beyond Dodger Stadium, do you see this as a blueprint for future VTuber integrations at large-scale events? What’s your vision for hololive’s next step in real-world crossovers?
Motoaki Tanigo: “Yes, absolutely. Baseball is just the start. In Japan, we’ve already collaborated with pro baseball teams. But we’re thinking bigger—American football, concerts, gaming expos. The idea is to keep pushing hololive into new cultural spaces, places where virtual and physical worlds can meet with purpose.”
hololive night may have wrapped in L.A., but the stage is only getting bigger. With Tanigo-san at the helm, it’s not a matter of if we see another event like this—but where.
Real and Virtual Will Keep Colliding. The success of hololive night at Dodger Stadium 2025 is more than a one-off—it’s a statement. It proves that and that fans are hungry for experiences that blend digital immersion with real-world energy. To check out when the next collaboration is for the Dodgers, visit mlb.com
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Photo credits: Photos courtesy of Lorenzo Dela Rama
