Brandwave

Sports leagues in New Zealand:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, NRL was the most searched among sports leagues in New Zealand, with an estimated 2.9M branded searches and 76.1% estimated Share of Search within this set.

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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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the professional sports leagues New Zealand fans watch and follow. 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.

Share of Search among 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——————

This month’s ranking, August 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 leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among sports leagues in New Zealand?

In August 2026, NRL was the most searched among sports leagues in New Zealand, with an estimated 2.9M branded searches and 76.1% estimated Share of Search within this set. Premier League is in 2nd place, 64.6 percentage points behind at 11.5% Share of Search.

New Zealand sports leagues, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
NRL14.4% → 76.1%85.2%Jul 20261.8%Dec 20255th → 1st
Premier League24.8% → 11.5%34%Feb 20261.3%Jun 20262nd
A-League15.2% → 5.7%21.2%Feb 20260.86%Jun 20264th → 3rd
AFL0.52% → 2.9%4.2%Jul 20260.13%Dec 20256th → 4th
NFL16.8% → 2.1%16.9%Jan 20260.28%May 20263rd → 5th
NBA28.2% → 1.8%41.1%Nov 20251.8%Aug 20261st → 6th

Each finding as a sentence

  • 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, Premier League’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand decreased from 24.8% to 11.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, A-League’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand decreased from 15.2% to 5.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AFL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand increased from 0.52% to 2.9%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NFL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand decreased from 16.8% to 2.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NBA’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand decreased from 28.2% to 1.8%.
  • 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, Premier League’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 34% in February 2026 and was lowest at 1.3% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, A-League’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 21.2% in February 2026 and was lowest at 0.86% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AFL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 4.2% in July 2026 and was lowest at 0.13% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NFL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 16.9% in January 2026 and was lowest at 0.28% in May 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NBA’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand peaked at 41.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 1.8% in August 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL rose from 5th to 1st among sports leagues in New Zealand.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, A-League rose from 4th to 3rd among sports leagues in New Zealand.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, AFL rose from 6th to 4th among sports leagues in New Zealand.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NFL fell from 3rd to 5th among sports leagues in New Zealand.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NBA fell from 1st to 6th 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%.

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