--- title: "NHL: search popularity worldwide" description: "The National Hockey League, the top professional ice hockey league in North America. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/nhl" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # NHL: search popularity worldwide The National Hockey League, the top professional ice hockey league in North America. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Brand**: NHL - **Market**: Global - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among sports leagues**: 2% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sports leagues | 6 | 2% | 5M | - [Sports leagues](/demand/global-en/categories/sports-leagues) ## Top sports leagues in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, NHL appeared in all four answers. NHL is the fourth most recommended of the seven. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NBA | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | NFL | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | MLB | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | NHL | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 | | Premier League | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | MLS | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | AFL | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about sports leagues - Asked ChatGPT "Which sports league should I go to?": 1. NBA, 2. NFL, 3. NHL, 4. MLB, 5. MLS - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best sports leagues?": 1. Premier League, 2. NBA, 3. NFL, 4. NHL, 5. MLB - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best sports league for a team to follow?": 1. NFL, 2. NBA, 3. MLB, 4. NHL, 5. Premier League - Searched Google, AI Overview "sports leagues": 1. NFL, 2. NBA, 3. MLB, 4. NHL, 5. MLS Not named in any answer: AFL. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for NHL changed worldwide over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for NHL worldwide fell from 16.6M to 5M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NHL’s share of searches among sports leagues worldwide decreased from 4.7% to 2%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NHL’s share of searches among sports leagues worldwide peaked at 8.9% in April 2026 and was lowest at 0.85% in August 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NHL fell from 5th to 6th among sports leagues worldwide. ## How did search popularity change for sports leagues worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, NFL overtook Premier League and MLB to become the leader among sports leagues worldwide, with 40.2% of the searches. - In September 2026, NHL gained share of searches among sports leagues worldwide, from 0.85% to 2%. - In September 2026, MLB lost share of searches among sports leagues worldwide, from 31.6% to 18.1%. - In September 2026, Premier League lost share of searches among sports leagues worldwide, from 38.6% to 33.1%. - In September 2026, AFL lost share of searches among sports leagues worldwide, from 6.3% to 3.6%. - In September 2026, NBA lost share of searches among sports leagues worldwide, from 5.2% to 3%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Sports leagues | 16.6M | 4.7% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | Sports leagues | 16.6M | 4.8% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | Sports leagues | 16.6M | 4.5% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | Sports leagues | 20.4M | 5.4% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | Sports leagues | 7.5M | 3.5% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | Sports leagues | 16.6M | 7.2% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | Sports leagues | 30.4M | 8.9% | 4 | | May 2026 | Sports leagues | 37.2M | 8.3% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | Sports leagues | 13.6M | 8.1% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | Sports leagues | 1.8M | 2.6% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | Sports leagues | 1.2M | 0.85% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | Sports leagues | 5M | 2% | 6 | ## How are NHL’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using NHL’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “nhl” ## Which sports leagues compete with NHL? - [NFL](/demand/global-en/brands/nfl) - [Premier League](/demand/global-en/brands/premier-league): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/nhl-vs-premier-league - [MLB](/demand/global-en/brands/mlb): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/mlb-vs-nhl - [AFL](/demand/global-en/brands/afl): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/afl-vs-nhl - [NBA](/demand/global-en/brands/nba): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/nba-vs-nhl - [MLS](/demand/global-en/brands/mls): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/mls-vs-nhl ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "NHL: search popularity worldwide". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/nhl This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/nhl. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.