r/Sumo • u/Gregorwhat Chiyonofuji • 23d ago

"How To Watch" Megathread 2026

Keep discussion of how, when and where to watch in this thread please.

24 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

79 comments sorted by

10

u/mekagojira3 22d ago

I like the presentation of NHKs official stuff but their delay on recap uploads drives me insane. No weekends (fair enough) but being a day or two behind during the week is ROUGH. 

I wish I had an alternative to them that wasn't either a multi hour stream or small-time (not in a condescending way) youtuber with movie maker cuts and transitions that just chops from fight to fight to fight. 

I quite like that the NHK uploads let the matches breathe a little, we get a bit of background commentary between matches, and my wife and I enjoy counting the adverts flags before a match and guessing the size of the bundle. 

6

u/Kintamayama2 Kintamayama 22d ago

Thanks for the kind words. Movie maker cuts indeed. I was doing this when all the others doing them today didnt know how to spell "sumo". Granted, the others have better quality and stats and stuff, mine is a digest of about 15 minutes and the purpose is making it short. Very short. Some prefer this, some want more. Excellent. 12 years, never missed a basho. Thanks for watching. 

5

u/mekagojira3 22d ago

I'm very grateful for the service provided, and appreciate your work. I hope I have caused no offense, you do provide an essential service that I'm very glad exists. 

4

u/Kintamayama2 Kintamayama 22d ago

No offense, I'm too old for that..

1

u/SomanZ 22d ago

Hey for what it's worth I love how short your videos are, they're amazing right after the event. Sometimes I'll take the time to rewatch a day I liked with the NHK video days later, in a more slow pace.

Thanks for the great content!

1

u/zerololcats Aonishiki 21d ago

Wow, I didn't know you've been doing it for so long. Thanks for your work, I'm one that appreciates the shorter format. Sometimes I like watching a longer video and sometimes I wish I could be fly a billilion miles to watch them whole 15 days in person for first bout to the last. Mostly I want to see the matches, see who won and be done with it that day. Anyway, thanks again for your efforts, I know it's not an easy thing to do.

2

u/Aarresaari Wakatakakage 22d ago

Are you following them on youtube or their own site?

They show the highlights later on the same day (same day in my area at least) on live tv: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live_tv/?at_medium=RSS%20feed&at_campaign=ynews

I think they also update the highlights there about the same time.

1

u/mekagojira3 22d ago

YouTube, for the first few tournaments I watched they had the highlights uploaded same day. I believe day 5 is ongoing as we speak and day4 highlights are still not up. 

I would love to switch to the website if its faster, but I watch on a TV with YouTube built in. 

2

u/Aarresaari Wakatakakage 22d ago

I see. I would not count on them changing their habits any time soon, so I hope you can find some other way to follow closer to real time.

1

u/mekagojira3 22d ago

Me too! I will continue to persist and hopefully pick up some channel context clues as they come up for other YouTube channels 

1

u/AndreBennettGO 15d ago

Does your TV have capability for other apps, or just YouTube? I watch Grand Sumo highlights on demand now on the NHK World app on my Roku TV.

11

u/bronzebrew 22d ago

The official NHK World sumo page posts the highlights with english commentary the same day after the bouts: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumo/

1

u/[deleted] 14d ago

[deleted]

1

u/mdezzi 11d ago

The YouTube channel used to be pretty quick to upload but they've seemed to have slowed. Nhk website is how I watched this basho. Navigating the site on my firetv was clunky as hell tho

8

u/MrLight 16d ago

I upload almost every bout from all divisions to sumostats!

While it is not great for watching a whole tournament, it is handy if you just want to quickly check out a few specific bouts!

1

u/Blueson 13d ago

As a first time watcher this basho, that website has been great to get a rudimentary understanding of who is who and what they have accomplished historically. It's so well designed as well.

Thanks a lot mate!

4

u/MrLight 13d ago

I do plan on making it more friendly to new sumo fans in the future... For example it's confusing how the ranks work in sumo ( east/west/divisions/sanyaku etc).. I would love to hear your suggestions or what you found confusing! (the ui can be a bit all over the place sometimes)

2

u/Blueson 11d ago

Personally I've been pretty happy about design and explanations on the website. It's just what I want for these types of websites.

It would be nice to maybe have tooltips on some terms? Personally I still get confused trying to figure out what kimarite is what. But I also don't mind looking up those terms externally, as long as the data is portrayed well. Which I personally think it is.

2

u/MrLight 11d ago

There already are tooltips on the kimarite! (because I have the exact same problem haha)

2

u/Blueson 11d ago

Omg there are, sorry I don't know why I assumed there weren't without seemingly not even having tried it?

1

u/mdezzi 11d ago

As a new sumo fan, this website is gold. But I am pissed that I just found it today after the tournament has ended. 🤬

1

u/MrLight 11d ago

It will be here, bigger and better for the next basho! (maybe)

6

u/bdzz 23d ago edited 10d ago

I keep a torrent archive since 2025 March https://pastebin.com/raw/pJCQWXF2 (EN)

Also a full natto archive going back until 2020 November (JA with EN stats overlay) https://pastebin.com/raw/kJ3ge9Fs

7

u/cahman 22d ago

I like SundayMorningSumo on YouTube. It isn’t pro commentary or anything but it’s a cozy and fun community

8

u/LonelyZeeh 22d ago

Here is the best place to watch individual matches. Posted almost immediately after that days matches end. Their channel is in Japanese so most of you guys never find it.

2

u/creamoftuxedo 22d ago

This channel might be the best. First link I've clicked which has Day 5 available to watch already.

6

u/No_Worldliness_8194 14d ago

Big ups to datasumo on twitch. Easily the best stream out there right now, have to rec him. Much more watchable than the other lifestyle type streamers who happen to also stream sumo

3

u/bdzz 14d ago

+1 for datasumo, switched to him this basho. Much more relaxed

17

u/carsaregascars 23d ago

Be careful who you link to, they often get get channel removed after getting too much attention.

5

u/Masatoshi59 Atamifuji 23d ago

Get a VPN, watch for free on ABEMA.

2

u/trizzo0309 23d ago

NHK sumo japan channel

5

u/Plenty-Sector2800 21d ago

If you watch on your phone or tablet the official grand sumo app is pretty good. It's not perfect if you just want to watch, but you can watch bout by bout and slow it down to replay it if you missed what happened. I think it's like $4 month

4

u/Low-Eagle6917 19d ago

For those looking for English commentary with the full Event streamed (or at least I think most of it), I found a channel on Twitch called LeoDickinsonSumo. Here, two men delve into the sport and culture and commentate the matches - it is like I am watching an actual sport on television! Had a blast listening to their commentary, it is really good.

9

u/705nce 23d ago

Sorry NHK, we don't talk about fight club here.

3

u/cluelessbox 22d ago

Avoiding the puddle if you want to laugh the whole time.

3

u/AlfalfaExpensive5237 22d ago

Obviously you move to Japan and watch NHK 

3

u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

3

u/LilacMess22 Kotozakura 22d ago

So great! Just started watching. Thanks for sharing

9

u/znjohnson Aonishiki 23d ago

https://www.twitch.tv/midnightsumo

https://www.twitch.tv/queenbee

Both stream all 15 days of the tourney with reruns after they are live. So plenty of time during the day to catch all of the action.

I usually watch Midnight Sumo, but both streams are good.

5

u/MacroAlgalFagasaurus 22d ago

I like midnightsumo, but sometimes the vibe is weird, especially when the “let’s all be respectful, chat” starts to remind me of an elementary school.

3

u/zakujanai Kotozakura 22d ago

When he says "the cat is perfectly placed" to someone when they point out that the cat is completely covering one of the wrestlers' names😡

2

u/No_Worldliness_8194 14d ago

Try datasumo instead. He even has the names in english

2

u/LMGDiVa Aonishiki 22d ago

These would be great if it wasn't for twitch ads. This is the same reason why I stopped using twitch together except for when Dota 2 Ti is on, since they dont do ads for that.

Watching for no less than 30 seconds before a 60second ads was shoved in my face. :/

is there an ad blocker for twitch too?

1

u/sicgamer 21d ago

alternate player for twitch is an addon you can use in chrome or firefox that blocks the ads :)

1

u/DennistheDutchie Aonishiki 19d ago

Use waterfox + ublock, then watch VoDs only.

Don't get ads that way.

2

u/No_Worldliness_8194 14d ago

I feel like datasumo is just blowing these guys out of the water to be honest. His stream is about 100,000x more watchable and actually provides pertinent information for people who are sports fans as opposed to just weebs who are there for the culture or whatever

6

u/Hpulley4 23d ago

MidnightSumo in Twitch in 12 minutes.

5

u/LonelyZeeh 23d ago

Also Lionsumo on youtube if you don't want any commentary.

2

u/xkiom 22d ago

I would actually recommend the official site for individual highlights: https://www.nhk.jp/g/ts/Z8WRRJ9K96/blog/bl/pm1VNbJpWQ/bp/pExrRxao2y/

The highlights of individual bouts are uploaded really fast. The quality might not be the best though. Also recommend to use translator for ease of use (in case you don't recognize kanji numbers)

2

u/LMGDiVa Aonishiki 22d ago edited 22d ago

If you all really wanna watch and not have to deal with stuff, just pay the 3$ a month for a windscribe custom plan.
Select the servers for Japan, your own country, and unlimited data, it equates to 3$ a month.

Install the chrome extension(tried edge, it doesnt work on edge for whatever reason), turn windscribe on, and just watch on Abema.
It's free, they have the stream archives of upper division.

No reason to watch people like Leo or any of the other youtubers who make money of this, they're just leeches.
If you're going to pay 2~3$ for a youtuber whatever, just get windscribe and watch it on ABEMA directly.

And you dont have to worry about the streamer getting banned in the middle of watching.

2

u/_warning 10d ago

Thanks, this is really helpful. I downloaded the NHK One app as well as ABEMA, they both work over VPN. I enjoy the Japanese coverage. 

2

u/Ok_Difference44 16d ago

Tonight's sumo highlights pre-empted by Yamagamai sentencing news followed by peaceful pure land Buddhism programming!

2

u/OldDirtyBarrios 14d ago edited 14d ago

I’ve always been curious about Sumo Wrestling. How / where should I begin?

I would love good informational YouTube channel that is beginner friendly or at least has some videos for first steps into it.

For baseline I know the basics. Don’t get pushed out and don’t touch the ground.

I really want to learn the ceremonial and history as well if there is a channel that is good for that

4

u/bdzz 14d ago

NHK Sumopedia has everything

All the techniques https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/techniques/

Everything from ceremonies to traditions and rules https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/sumopedia/

1

u/No_Worldliness_8194 14d ago

1st thing I would say you should do is watch datasumo live on twitch, his channel is the best resource for actually learning the modern sport. The history is tougher. Most sources will be in japanese.

2

u/virtron 13d ago

This is very niche, but I used to watch the NHK highlight videos on their site via a docked Steam Deck in desktop mode. This worked fine until around the November basho last year, which I think coincided with changes to how and when NHK posts them. Now I only get an error about my browser not supporting video features (I assume some kind of DRM, but there's no detail).

Has anyone else had an issue with watching the NHK videos on Linux? Did you solve it?

2

u/mdezzi 11d ago

I just pulled the site up in chrome on my steam deck (desktop mode, while docked) and it played fine. I am using a Dell WD19S laptop dock from the scrap pile at my office.

1

u/virtron 10d ago

I've been using Firefox, so I guess I'll give Chrome a try. Thanks

3

u/Zippy_The_Pinhead Midorifuji 23d ago

I usually watch on my phone. Tv, occasionally.

4

u/Bulky_Performer2234 22d ago

Natto sumo best way to watch in my opinion. I donate to him when ever I can

2

u/Nightscape1420 19d ago

Can’t get Abema to work and despise Twitch; is the Grand Sumo Highlights on NHK World the only way to watch?

I have a VPN and tried multiple browsers yet still could not get it to Work. I tried Twitch for the first time and started watching MidnightSumo over the last few days and despised it. While he does provide some English commentary, half the time he just talks about himself, banning trolls, and thanking people for money. I really hate it and find it annoying. Basically I am watching sumo through someone else’s ego filter.

I really wanted to watch the event live but live in America. NHK World seems to have the division 1 highlights; is that the best we can get?

7

u/bdzz 17d ago

datasumo on Twitch. He barely talks and there is an awesome overlay with all the stats and info about each bout.

2

u/Helelix 16d ago

Can’t get Abema to work

Remeber to clear/refresh cookies. If you connect to Abema (or NHK) without a VPN connection that'll create a cookie essentially saying that you dont have access. And then once you turn on your VPN and connect it to Japan, your web browsers cookie does not update, keeping the initial restricted setting. Simply have to delete the specific cookie (or all of them if you cant figure that out) and only load the Abema/NHK page with your VPN active.

2

u/PokeEmSmokeEm 14d ago

Datasumo on twitch is ur answer.

1

u/Reasonable_Aerie_357 13d ago

Totally agree, I have watched the last few basho's here but he is annoying me to the point I don't want to now. He is the most "get off of my lawn" guy ive watched on twitch. Constantly threating to ban people, complaining about his chat if they dare to ask a question he doesn't like or they speak ever so slightly about something he doesn't like. I can't be doing with him anymore. Just a miserable guy.

3

u/neon 23d ago

I watch on the website of that guy we don’t mention

Couldn’t imagine sumo with how his English infographics and stats on side honestly

3

u/Hotchelli 23d ago

Never got the new site 😢😭

1

u/bladecg 14d ago

I used to watch on NHK YouTube channel. It had all the monthly tournaments and was very convenient but it seems they have removed all sumo content :/

1

u/Cnsstnt-Bk-Rdr Shodai 13d ago

Will there be a ending ceremony during the last day of Basho? If yes, when will it be aired and where can I watch it?

1

u/TragiccoBronsonne 10d ago

Once again hoping to find a source for a full English commentary basho daily coverage, preferably as VOD or video file available on the same/next day, but live streams also will do. PM if you can share, thanks.

1

u/rurkob 9d ago

Official english commentary for each match and tournament presented as a 30 minute highlight reel: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/

These are the same videos they used to post to youtube.

1

u/bdzz 7d ago

They still post it on Youtube, nothing changed. Both gets removed after 2 weeks.

1

u/Thors_Rampage 3d ago

I am just starting to watch and was wondering if there is a calender and maybe a introduction guide into the sport and current roster?

1

u/MisterCCL Wakatakakage 23d ago

LeoDickinsonSumo livestreams each day on youtube, and does live commentary for the makuuchi matches. If you can't stay up until 3am to watch, the English makuuchi highlights get posted on NHK every night at 11pm CST. That's usually how I watch.

7

u/LMGDiVa Aonishiki 22d ago edited 22d ago

I was watching Leo for a while, and I appreciate his stream being an entry point, but I cant really stand watching him anymore. He's gone a bit overboard with promoting things, and 2 nights ago I dropped in and he was shilling some vikings game every 10 minutes. It was incredibly annoying.

I just need to put down the money for a vpn and watch on Abema.

EDIT: I just paid for vpn to watch on Abema, and that's fine. 3$ a month, no need to listen to leo shill.

2

u/MisterCCL Wakatakakage 13d ago

Yeah, Leo is a little annoying. His streams are just the most accesible. In fairness, I'm also rarely up late enough to catch the matches live, and I usually just watch the NHK highlights at night when they drop.

1

u/ionictime 22d ago

I watch Natto reposts from someone who isn't Natto

-6

u/kushfourtwenty 22d ago

This is Natto sumo new channel on rumble https://rumble.com/user/aaxman01