Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2017: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch online
Can Joey Chestnut win his 10th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July? We have all the info to watch the action.
Update: It’s official: Joey Chestnut has won his 10th Mustard Belt, putting down a personal best 72 hot dogs in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
July 4 is an important day in the United States for a number of reasons, but the two biggest are clearly the celebration of independence and ... the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Some of the best competitive eaters in the world wolf down hot dogs at an alarming rate all in the pursuit of high-calorie glory.
The contest, featuring names like Joey Chestnut and Matt Stonie, takes place in Brooklyn, N.Y., every year on the Fourth of July. The event will get underway at 12 p.m. ET and will be broadcast by ESPN2 on television in the United States.
A live stream of the action will be available online at WatchESPN and via the ESPN App on various connected devices.
The competition lasts 10 minutes, and whoever eats the most in that time is crowned the champion. The field of contestants typically includes the defending champion, winners of regional qualifying events, wildcard qualifiers and those invited by special invitation of Major League Eating.
Takeru Kobayashi is the biggest name not at the contest. He hasn’t competed since 2009 due to a refusal to sign an exclusive deal with MLE. It’s all really down to Chestnut, the favorite, and Stonie, the 2015 winner. Stonie beat Chestnut with 62 hot dogs in 2015, while Chestnut set the contest record with 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2016. He put down 17 more hot dogs than Stonie did that year, a proper drubbing.
Chestnut has won nine titles to date and holds several world records in competitive eating. He’s the top-ranked competitive eater in the world, at least according to MLE, though there is little doubt this is the case. On the women’s side, Miki Sudo is the defending champion and has been since she unseated Sonya Thomas in 2014.
Below is all you need to know to watch the action on Tuesday, live on television and online in the United States.
How to watch Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest
Date: Tuesday, July 4
Location: Nathan’s Famous Corporation, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Time: 12 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2