Brandwave

How popular isNRL in search?

In August 2026, there were an estimated 2.9M branded searches for NRL in New Zealand which is up 667.6% over the last 11 months. NRL holds 76.1% estimated Share of Search among New Zealand sports leagues and is ranked 1st of 6 competitors for search popularity.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. NRL76.1%
  2. Premier League11.5%
  3. A-League5.7%
  4. AFL2.9%
  5. NFL2.1%
  6. NBA1.8%
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Which sports leagues compete with NRL?

NRL against sports leagues in New Zealand, by month

Share of Search by month for NRL, Premier League, A-League, AFL, NFL. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthNRLPremier LeagueA-LeagueAFLNFLNBA
Oct 202514.4%24.8%15.2%0.52%16.8%28.2%
Nov 20253.5%24%16.2%0.27%14.9%41.1%
Dec 20251.8%30.8%20%0.13%14.3%33.1%
Jan 20262.2%27.8%19.9%0.16%16.9%33.1%
Feb 202610.7%34%21.2%0.32%3.4%30.4%
Mar 202634%23%14.5%1.8%0.61%26.2%
Apr 202638.4%19.1%11.9%2%0.91%27.7%
May 202633.8%20.9%10.8%1.7%0.28%32.6%
Jun 202656.7%1.3%0.86%2.4%0.57%38.2%
Jul 202685.2%3%1.8%4.2%0.72%5.1%
Aug 202676.1%11.5%5.7%2.9%2.1%1.8%
Sep 2026——————

  1. 1.NRL

    76.1%

    held 1st · 2.9M estimated branded searches · +59.6% vs prior month · -9.1 points

  2. 2.Premier League

    11.5%

    moved from 4th to 2nd · 433K estimated branded searches · +578.7% vs prior month · +8.5 points

  3. 3.A-League

    5.7%

    moved from 5th to 3rd · 214K estimated branded searches · +465.3% vs prior month · +3.9 points

  4. 4.AFL

    2.9%

    moved from 3rd to 4th · 108K estimated branded searches · +23.5% vs prior month · -1.3 points

  5. 5.NFL

    2.1%

    moved from 6th to 5th · 77.9K estimated branded searches · +413.4% vs prior month · +1.3 points

  6. 6.NBA

    1.8%

    moved from 2nd to 6th · 68.9K estimated branded searches · -36.4% vs prior month · -3.3 points

Compare search popularity between NRL and its closest rivals

How has branded search demand for NRL changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months?

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for NRL in New Zealand rose from 374K to 2.9M.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand increased from 14.4% to 76.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 85.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 1.8% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL rose from 5th to 1st among sports leagues in New Zealand.

How did search popularity change for New Zealand sports leagues in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Premier League overtook NBA to rank 2nd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 11.5%.

  2. In August 2026, A-League overtook NBA to rank 3rd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 5.7%.

  3. In August 2026, NFL overtook NBA to rank 5th among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 2.1%.

  4. In August 2026, NRL lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 85.2% to 76.1%.

  5. In August 2026, NBA lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 5.1% to 1.8%.

  6. In August 2026, AFL lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 4.2% to 2.9%.

How is NRL measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using NRL’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

21 branded search terms

  • dolphin nrl
  • nrl
  • nrl com
  • nrl draw
  • nrl finals
  • nrl fixtures
  • nrl gf
  • nrl gf tickets
  • nrl ladder
  • nrl matches
  • nrl matches tonight
  • nrl near me
  • nrl nz
  • nrl online
  • nrl results
  • nrl scores
  • nrl standings
  • nrl teams list
  • nrl tickets
  • nrl tonight
  • nrl w

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How the Brand Demand Index is measured

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