logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
17m 27s

WNBA: Is success leading to profit?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The 2024 women's basketball season has broken records from attendances at matches, to points scored by rookie Caitlin Clark.

As it draws to a close, we look at whether success on the court is leading to profitability off it.

Despite some major media deals, the WNBA is still struggling to turn a profit.

So is it really a major player in the sports industry?

Produced and presented by Izzy Greenfield

(Photo: A'ja Wilson, on court for the Las Vegas Aces. Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Jan 23
Lew Frankfort: Building a billion-dollar brand
When Lew Frankfort joined Coach, it was a family run, wholesale handbag business worth six million dollars.He spent 35 years at the company, from opening the company's first shop to growing the business now valued at over five billion dollars.We find out what led Lew to an unlike ... Show More
17m 28s
Jan 22
Can an island of flowers become a global chip hub?
Forty years ago Japan made more than half of the world's semiconductors. Today, it produces just over 10%. But the country has big ambitions to turn that around.We hear from the CEO of a company at the centre of the government's high-stakes gamble to revive its semiconductor indu ... Show More
17m 27s
Jan 21
Small country, auto giant
When Slovakia was part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the cars it made were noisy, thirsty and slow by western standards at the time. But when Volkswagen bought the car-maker Skoda, that was the beginning of a major change. Now, Slovakia makes almost a million cars a yea ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
Can anyone afford an NBA team?
<p>The 2024 NBA Playoffs are in full swing, but eyes are still on a team that was knocked out last week. The Minnesota Timberwolves are caught up in an ownership dispute that’s gone south pretty fast, after two prospective buyers attempted to finance their purchase of the team in ... Show More
23m 28s
Aug 2024
Will the WNBA Season Have a Gold-Medal Hangover?
The Olympic games are over and on the hardwood, both the men and women of Team USA brought home gold. But while the guys head off to vacation, the WNBA athletes are getting back to work. The league’s four-week break for the Paris Olympiad is over with teams taking the court tonig ... Show More
27m 29s
May 2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis Talks Sports Investments
Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO, Ted Leonsis, sat down with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua during the Qatar Economic Forum to talk about his potential sports investments. Leonsis praised women's sports, particularly the WNBA. "The quality of the game in the way the game is bei ... Show More
9m 34s
Sep 2025
WNBA Star Jewell Loyd Is on the Road to a New Black Wall Street
Las Vegas Aces star Jewell Loyd has amassed a stack of staggering accolades: garnering two WNBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, and six WNBA All-Star nods, not to mention being anointed as the "Gold Mamba” from the late great Kobe Bryant himself. But Loyd’s impact goes be ... Show More
33m 4s
Feb 2025
Women's Soccer Is Getting a Big Upgrade
Denver was named the winner of a new women’s pro soccer franchise last month, in part because it plans to build one of the first stadiums exclusively for the league. WSJ’s Rachel Bachman explains the seismic shift in women’s sports - and the big money that is coming with it. F ... Show More
19m 10s
Jun 2025
THE THUNDER ARE ONE WIN AWAY FROM TITLETOWN & WHERE IS KEVIN DURANT GONNA GO?!
Ma$e, Cam’ron & Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson are back with another one!! On this episode, Ma$e is no longer thinking the Pacers are gonna win in 6 after the Thunder take a 3-2 lead in the NBA finals behind J Will’s MONSTER game 5 performance, can the Pacers survive without a healt ... Show More
55m 8s
Oct 2024
Who Has The Most To Prove In The NBA? + Lonzo’s Miraculous Return & Hartenstein Injury Impact
Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to talk Sabrina Ionescu’s incredible shot in the WNBA Finals & the success of her shoes across the basketball world before diving into players with something to prove this season including Lonzo Ball’s miraculous r ... Show More
1h 1m