Joey Chestnut's ban takes bite out of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest TV ratings

With Joey Chestnut was barred from competing in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this year, ESPN’s broadcast of the event generated its lowest ratings in more than a decade.

The broadcast drew 831,000 viewers compared to about one million viewers in each of the previous two years, according to ESPN.

The lowest ratings since 2013 came during the pandemic in 2020, when the broadcast attracted 982,000 viewers, according to the network.

Chestnut, the 16-time champion of the July 4 event, competed in an exhibition against four soldiers on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas because he signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods that led to his being banned by Nathan's.

George Shea, the longtime emcee for the Nathan’s contest, had predicted higher TV ratings because of the “intense" controversy surrounding Chestnut.

ESPN began televising the event in 2004 and TV ratings for that first decade were unavailable.

Since 2013, the three highest-rated broadcasts of Nathan’s contest came in 2014 with 2.7M viewers, 2019 with 1.5M viewers and 2021 with 1.3M viewers.