Forbes.com has two articles about competitive eating, a profile of Joey Chestnut and an analysis of Major League Eating as a business. Eric Gatoff, CEO of Nathan's, says his company spends in "the high six figures" on the Nathan's finals and its qualifier circuit.

July 1, 2009 at 5:35 pm by ojrifkin · More posts about:2009 Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, Business, Joey Chestnut | Permalink * Comments (4)

4 Comments »

  1. Doubt it said

    July 1, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

    High six figures my ass! Eaters get less than $2,000 total. Hot dogs and buns for all qualifiers, less than $3,000. Chestnut & Koby guaranteed appearance/COney winnings $20,000.

    ESPN surely pays Nathans for live viewing rights which brings their liability costs down to practically nothing.

    HORSESHIT NATHANS. You are a cheap company who no longer takes care of all the eaters that appear and compete in your big July 4th event

  2. mike landrich said (Registered July 4, 2007)

    July 1, 2009 @ 8:33 pm

    Doubt it

    You left out sanctioning fees, airfare and hotel for the MCs and production costs for the show. Most shows on ESPN have to pay to be put on (and recoup some money from the sponsors, in this case Nathans). It all adds up faster than most realize.

  3. what about the eaters? said

    July 1, 2009 @ 10:55 pm

    A 10 million dollar industry? There’s some serious appearance fees and quite a nice profit going to the feds. How about you share the wealth?

  4. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    July 2, 2009 @ 6:41 am

    That’s right Mike. In fact, I thought their expenses might have been a bit more.

    I do, however, believe that the scripted ephemera storyline from last year, which resulted in two minutes being shaved off the Nathan’s events, was an effort to try to cut costs. But, as is plain to see, it’s not working, because most the top eaters eat about as many HDBs in 10 minutes as they did 12.

    If the Nathan’s CFO really wants to cut costs, he could reduce the number of qualifiers by 50 percent, and have them at key locations throught the U.S. where Nathan’s id either trying to open up new markets or retain market share.

    No disrespect to the other fantastic eaters who make the Nathan’s finals, but the vast majority of the viewers only pay attention to Joey and Koby. They want to see if the greatest eater of all time, known by name, can defeat that American guy who currently has the M-Y belt.

    Having far fewer eaters at the final table would also make the judging much easier, and would help devote more camera and interview time to Joey and Koby. Every time cameras veer away from those two is a distraction from the main reason people watch it.

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