Chestnut to face rival Kobayashi in hot dog eating contest on Netflix

Professional eating’s biggest rivalry has been revived.

Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi are set to compete in a winner-take-all hot dog eating contest that will stream live on Netflix on Labor Day (Sept. 2), the streaming service announced Wednesday. The special — “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” — will settle who is the ultimate hot dog eating champion.

Chestnut, 40, and Kobayashi, 46, have not competed against one another since 2009, when Chestnut bested Kobayashi — who won the contest every year from 2001 to 2006 — in a sudden-death eat-off of five hot dogs.

Chestnut is a 16-time Nathan’s hot dog eating contest champion, holding the world record of 76. On Tuesday, Major League Eating announced Chestnut will not participate in this year’s Fourth of July competition due to a deal he made with a rival vegan hot dog brand called Impossible Foods.

“I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years I’m banned from the Nathan’s July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest,” Chestnut wrote on X on Tuesday. “I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title.”

Now, that training will be tested against an old foe.

“Through all of my years in competitive eating, Kobayashi stands out as my fiercest rival,” Chestnut said in a release. “Competing against him pushed me to be so much better. I know that fans have waited a long time for another chapter of our rivalry and I can’t wait for our massive showdown live on Netflix! It’s time to give the people what they want!”

The native of Japan is largely credited with popularizing competitive eating. In 2001, he almost doubled the previous record held for most hot dogs eaten in Nathan’s hot dog eating championship and went on to break his own record three times.

In 2010, Kobayashi was banned from competing in Nathan’s hot dog eating contest over a contract dispute with Major League Eating, which sanctions the event.

Many reports cited Kobayashi announcing his retirement in the Netflix film “Hack Your Health — The Secrets of Your Gut” in May, but Kobayashi said in a release “retiring for me will only happen after I take (Chestnut) down one last time.

“This rivalry has been brewing for a long time. Competing against Joey live on Netflix means fans all over the world can watch me knock him out,” Kobayashi said.

The location and time of the competition will be announced at a later date, according to Netflix.

A Netflix spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Athletic about the winner-take-all stakes.

How Chestnut vs. Kobayashi fits Netflix’s sports portfolio

Last month reflected a seismic shift for Netflix when it announced it had landed exclusive rights to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024 — the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens versus the Houston Texans. (The three-season deal includes at least one game on Christmas Day in 2025 and 2026.) But the streaming giant is not going to abandon what has long been its live sports philosophy — things that are sports adjacent.

That was reflected in the one-off exhibition events such as The Netflix Cup, The Netflix Slam and the upcoming P.T. Barnum-inspired bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Even Netflix’s recent deal with WWE — paying more than $5 billion for exclusive rights to the long-running “Raw” franchise, along with other rights outside the U.S. — could be tagged as sports-adjacent given WWE falls under sports entertainment. Landing “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” fits into Netflix’s appetite for finding something with a connection (very loose here) to sports but is not part of a traditional pro league. Chesnut being eliminated from the 2024 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in a beef over vegan franks is a publicity gift from the gods.

Sure, you may hate yourself for watching, but many of you will. — Richard Deitsch, sports media writer

(Photo: Stephen Chernin / Getty Images)