There's plenty about Independence Day to get excited about. Baseball games on all day, hitting the beach or pool with family and friends, fireworks and, most of all, barbecues.
An American institution, firing up the grill on the Fourth of July is a necessity. Hamburgers, steaks, chicken, maybe a veggie burger (we don't judge) and hot dogs.
And those hot dogs take center stage on July 4, at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
History of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held at the chain's original (and most recognizable) location on Coney Island since the early 1970s and is almost always held on the Fourth of July.
Since 2008, contestants are given 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they can (although the time limit has fluctuated over the years, being as short as three minutes and as long as 12).
Typically, the field is 20 contestants and is comprised of past winners, regional qualifiers, special guests and wildcard qualifiers.
By the late 1990s, the contest was dominated by Japanese contestants. The most famous of which being Takeru Kobayashi, who won six-straight Hot Dog Eating Contests from 2001-06.
His performance in 2001 garnered a lot of attention, as he utterly demolished the previous record of 25.5 hot dogs, eating 50 of them in 12 minutes.
Kobayashi made the event much more popular and by the mid-2000s another competitive eating superstar hit the scene in Joey Chestnut.
Chestnut won the event eight-straight times from 2007-14, clashing with Kobayashi in his first three events. In 2007, an estimated 50,000 people were on hand to watch the two down hot dog after hot dog. After 2009, Kobayashi stopped participating in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating (MLE).
Chestnut returned to his winning ways in 2016, ripping off another eight-straight wins before missing the 2024 contest due to a dispute with MLE over a sponsorship he had with Impossible Foods.
Chestnut is returning to this year's contest, where the winner will receive a cash prize and a Nathan's World Championship belt.
How to Watch the 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
ESPN has held the rights to air the event for the better part of the last 25 years, which holds true this year as well.
The men's contest will air on ESPN2, while contestant-specific cameras and the women's contest will air on ESPN3.
ESPN3 is not a traditional cable channel. Rather, it is accessed either through ESPN.com or the ESPN app, by logging in with your TV provider details.
ESPN2 is available through all streaming platforms, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Sling TV (Orange Package), Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream.
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Ratings History
Typically, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest draws roughly one million viewers. The 2014 event was aired on ESPNews to only 402,000 viewers, but it was reaired on ESPN a few hours later and drew 2.8 million.
The 2024 contest, which did not feature Chestnut, sported the lowest viewership since ESPN begain airing the event in 2004 (831,000).
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How to Watch the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Live.
