New Delhi, Jun 14 (IANS): The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies. People have now adjusted to new ways of work and life.

Even in cricket or say any sport, fanatics like to watch matches on their smartphones or laptops now, because it is easy and can be seen anywhere (just a good internet is required, which now is not an issue). And it seems the market has understood this new phase.

Many believe that TV has become a secondary thing in front of the internet. The same was witnessed during the just concluded IPL media right bidding war. Viacom 18 bagged the digital rights for a whopping Rs 23,758 crore, which was a bit higher than Disney Star's winning bid for TV at Rs 23,575 cr.

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal also acknowledged the impact of digital during the e-auction.

"So digital turned out to be bigger than linear TV this season in #IPLMediaRights. I would like to thank all the participants for their interest in the best "Made in India" sports property. In my view the transparency of the whole process is truly Winner no.1.Big thanks to fans!," Dhumal said in a tweet.

In a stunning validation of IPL's growing popularity, the overall media rights for the 2023-27 cycle was sold for Rs 48, 390 crore.

Disney Star will pay Rs 57.5 crore per match, while Viacom 18, who won the subcontinental digital rights for all matches at Rs 50 crore a match, and then committed another Rs 33 crore per match for a non-exclusive package of high-profile games (ranging between 18 and 22 matches), will effectively end up paying just over Rs 58 crore per match.

The overall deal for the 2023-27 cycle is 2.96 times higher than the previous IPL rights deal (2018-22) of Rs 16,347.5 crore. The previous cycle comprised 60 matches per season for five years. As per a Cricinfo report, "For the new five-year cycle the IPL has listed a varying number of matches per season ranging from 74 games each in 2023 and '24, 84 matches each in 2025 and '26, and a maximum of 94 matches for the final year of the deal in 2027."

With this, the lucrative Indian league is now the second most valued sporting league in terms of per match value behind the National Football League (NFL) of the USA.

"Since its inception, the IPL has been synonymous with growth & today is a red-letter day for India Cricket, with Brand IPL touching a new high with e-auction resulting in Rs 48,390 cr value. IPL is now the 2nd most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per match value!," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in his tweet.