Major League Eating
Major League Eating (MLE) is a franchise that sanctions professional competitive eating events and competitive eating television specials. The purported mission of Major League Eating is to maintain a safe environment for all events, while also seeking to create a dynamic and enjoyable fan experience. The league airs its annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN.
George and Richard Shea (brothers) took over Nathan's publicity in the mid-1990s and were able to not only increase the exposure and attendance of Nathan's hot dog eating contest, but with the huge success in bringing popularity to their eating contest they completely revolutionize the eating contest sport as more companies sought to take advantage of their marketing success. Seeing the perfect business opportunity, the brothers founded International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) in 1997 to oversee/regulate/organize events/TV deals. IFOCE later changed its name to "Major League Eating" (MLE). The brothers still represent Nathan's.
Renowned eaters Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, Sonya Thomas, and Patrick Bertoletti have all been Major League Eaters, however issues regarding contracts as well as treatment of the eaters have plagued the league in recent years, with Kobayashi leaving the league in an acrimonious dispute. Each year Major League Eating has many live and televised events. Major League Eating coordinates events in the United States, Japan, England, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Thailand and Ukraine.
Read more about Major League Eating: Takeru Kobayashi Contract Dispute, See Also
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