- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
'Caitlin Clark Effect' set to transform WNBA
After a dazzling college career that smashed records on and off the basketball court, Caitlin Clark's legacy as a trailblazing icon for women's sport is already secure.
Now, as the 22-year-old prepares to be chosen with the No.1 pick in next week's WNBA draft, experts are predicting Clark may well have the same kind of transformative effect on women's professional basketball.
Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA's commissioner, said Monday that Clark and the next generation of women's basketball players will be economic engines that will ensure the league's financial footing for the next 30 years.
Engelbert told CNBC that the WNBA expects to see its existing media deals double in value, from around $50 million a year to $100 million, when they are next negotiated in 2025.
"We hope to at least double our rights fees," Engelbert said. "Women's sports rights fees have been undervalued for too long. So we have this enormous opportunity at a time when the media landscape is changing so much."
- 'Bird-Magic' moment?
Engelbert said the arrival in the WNBA of Clark and other college stars such as Louisiana State University's Angel Reese and South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso could have the same kind of impact as the 1980s rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, which helped create the modern NBA.
"I think we're setting the league up with this next media rights deal not just for the next three to five years but for the next 30," Engelbert said.
"If you look at the history of men's sports, do we have our 'Bird-Magic' moment like the NBA?"
The WNBA class of 2024 will bring with them built-in audiences from college basketball and, significantly, substantial social media followings.
Clark's 258,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, is more than 100,000 followers more than Breanna Stewart, the current WNBA Most Valuable Player.
Reese -- affectionately nicknamed 'Bayou Barbie' -- will bring an X following of 415,000 to the WNBA.
Clark's impact on the business of college basketball in recent seasons is well documented. This season, Clark and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes set or broke attendance records in all but two of their games, according to the NCAA.
- 'Tsunami of impact' -
Sunday's collegiate championship between Clark's Iowa and South Carolina drew an average audience of 18.7 million viewers, according to US sports network ESPN.
That made it the most watched women's basketball game in history; and the most watched basketball game of any kind -- men's or women's, college or professional -- since 2019.
The University of Iowa women's basketball program generated $3.8 million in 2022-2023. That was up from $1.7 million a year earlier.
Already there are signs that the "Caitlin Clark Effect" is starting to wash over the WNBA.
The Indiana Fever, the club who are guaranteed to take Clark with the top draft pick on April 15, sold out seats for games against Connecticut and Los Angeles within hours of putting them on sale.
Courtside seats for the May 28 game with Los Angeles in Indianapolis were being offered for $660 on one resale website.
And it's not just Indiana who expect to cash in on Clark's box office appeal.
The Las Vegas Aces have already announced plans to move their July 2 home game against Indiana from their 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas to the bigger, 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena.
Mary Jo Kane, a professor at the University of Minnesota and founding director of its Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, says Clark has been an "unprecedented tsunami of impact and influence."
"No one has been able to capture the kind of magic or lightning in a bottle like Caitlin Clark has done," Kane told National Public Radio in a recent interview.
Even though her college career ended in disappointment on Sunday, with defeat to South Carolina, Clark remained the centre of attention.
South Carolina's coach Dawn Staley thanked Clark for "lifting up our sport".
"She carried a heavy load for our sport, and it is not going to stop here on a collegiate tour. When she's the No.1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she's going to lift up that league as well."
Clark meanwhile derives satisfaction from a collegiate career that redefined the popular appeal of women's sport.
"When you're given the opportunity, women's sport thrives and that's been the coolest part for me on this journey," said Clark, whose achievements this season included breaking Pete Maravich's 54-year-old all-time college basketball scoring record.
"We started the season playing in front of 55,000 people, now we're ending it in front of 15 million people on TV. It just continues to get better and better and that's never going to stop."
Clark believes investment will be the key to the success of women's sport in the long term.
"No matter what sport it is, believe in them the same, invest in them the same, and things are going to thrive," said Clark.
"You see it with other sports. Continue to invest time, money and resources for those people and give them the opportunities. That's what's going to drive women's sports in future."
H.E.Young--AMWN