Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2025 TV Schedule, Live Stream, Weather, Replay Info

The annual competitive eating extravaganza that is the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest returns to Coney Island Friday, with the return of the sport's biggest star to the event he helped make destination viewing every July 4th.

Joey Chestnut headlines the field of competitors on the men's side while Miki Sudo will look to continue her streak of dominance on the women's side.

Find out where, when, and how to check out this year's spectacular with this preview.

Viewing Info

Date: Friday, July 4

Time: 10:45 a.m. (women's), 12:00 p.m. (men's)

TV: ESPN, ESPN2

Streaming: ESPN+

Replay: 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Weather: 83 degrees and sunny

Chestnut Puts Drama Behind Him Amid Return

Chestnut is the most visible, prominent competitive food eater in the business, thanks in large part to what he has accomplished every Independence Day since his first victory in 2007.

Not only is he the face of the competition, appearing in all of the promotion for the event, but he is the most decorated star on the men's side of things. He has won the contest 16 times and will look to expand his record when he returns to the event in 2025, one year after being banned from competition amid a sponsorship with Impossible Foods.

Feelings were hurt, with Chestnut refusing to return to the contest in 2024 without an apology, despite the ban being lifted shortly before the event. He would go on to compete over Labor Day in September, squaring off with Kobayashi in a live Netflix special in which he bested his longtime rival by a total of 18 hot dogs.

Time heals all wounds, though, and Chestnut announced in June that he would be returning to the event.

Major League Eating, the governing body in the sport and promoter of the annual event, recognizes the significance of Chestnut to its organization, with the following praise on his eater profile:

"Joey Chestnut is the greatest eater in history. That is not empty editorializing or bloviating. That is empirical fact. Members of the media and members of the scientific community are warmly invited to conduct their own independent analysis; MLE is confident that you will come to the same conclusions."

Chestnut holds the record for the most hot dogs eaten in event history with 76 in the 2021 event and will make a run at it Friday. Whether he eclipses it or not, he is the heavy favorite to win on the men's side.

On the women's side, Miki Sudo will look to win her 11th consecutive time in the women's contest. The most celebrated women's competitor, she is the No. 3-ranked eater in the world and as dominant in her field as Chestnut is in his.