2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: How to watch, plus what to know about Joey Chestnut’s return

The Fourth of July is fast approaching, and you know what that means: It’s time for fireworks, barbecue and tuning in to watch Joey “Jaws” Chestnut scarf down upwards of 70 hot dogs (and buns!) in 10 minutes. Chestnut is returning to compete at the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. The long-reigning champ was banned in 2024 after signing an endorsement deal with Nathan’s competitor Impossible Foods. But this Friday, Chestnut returns to compete at Coney Island.

Chestnut will aim to beat his world record of 76 dogs and buns. He’ll face 2024 men’s champion and No. 2-ranked eater Patrick Bertoletti, No. 3 Geoffrey Esper, No. 4 James Webb and No. 6 Nick Wehry. On the women’s side, Miko Sudo remains the reigning champ, with a personal best of 51 hot dogs and buns set last year. Will she set a new record this year? Here’s what to know about how to watch Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest live on July 4.

How to watch the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest:

Date: July 4

Time: Coverage starts at 10:45 a.m. ET; men’s contest begins at noon ET

Location: Coney Island, New York

Channel: ESPN2, ESPN3 (web only), ESPN

Streaming: DirecTV, Fubo and more

When is Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is held annually on the Fourth of July.

2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest time:

Coverage of this year’s competition will begin at 10:45 a.m. on ESPN3 with the women’s contest. Then, at noon, coverage of the men’s competition will begin on ESPN2.

2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest channel:

ESPN will once again broadcast the hot dog-eating contest. The main event will air live on ESPN2 before being re-broadcast on ESPN, while the women’s contest will air on ESPN3. The event will not be available to stream on ESPN+.

Need to find a way to watch the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest? Here’s what we recommend if you don’t already have cable:

DirecTV offers multiple live TV packages geared toward sports fans, with access to ESPN’s suite of channels, ABC and more starting at $69.99/month. For ESPN3 content, you can log in to ESPN.com with DirecTV.

You can try any tier free for five days before committing.

Try free at DirecTV

2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest TV schedule:

All times Eastern

10:45 a.m. – Women’s contest (ESPN3)

11 a.m. – Miki Sudo cam (ESPN3)

12 p.m. – Men’s contest (ESPN2)

12:30 p.m. – Joey Chestnut cam (ESPN3)

5 p.m. – Main event re-airing (ESPN)

6 p.m. – Main event re-airing (ESPN2)

9 p.m. – Main event re-airing (ESPN)

Who is competing in the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

The 2025 contest will see the return of top-ranked eater Joey Chestnut. He’ll compete alongside 2024 men’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Champion and No. 2-ranked eater Patrick Bertoletti, No. 3 Geoffrey Esper, No. 4 James Webb and No. 6 Nick Wehry.

On the women’s side, Miko Sudo will look to win her fourth-straight Mustard Belt and her 11th overall. Her competition includes No. 9-ranked eater Michelle Lesco, among others.

2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest record:

The men’s world record is 76 hot dogs and buns, set by Joey Chestnut in 2021. The women’s world record is 51 hot dogs and buns, set by Miko Sudo last year.

2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest prize:

In addition to the Mustard Belt, the champions of this year’s competition will each get $10,000. Second-place finishers will get $5,000 each, and third-place finishers get $2,500 apiece.

Why was Joey Chestnut banned from the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Joey Chestnut was banned in 2024 after he signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods. Nathan’s viewed it as a conflict of interest with its all-beef product and banned him from competing.

Chestnut has since agreed to exclusively endorse Nathan’s hot dogs as part of a three-year contract with Nathan’s and the International Federation of Competitive Eating.