--- title: "More FM vs The Sound: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is More FM or The Sound more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the radio stations set in New Zealand. 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/nz/compare/more-fm-vs-the-sound-radio" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # More FM vs The Sound: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is More FM or The Sound more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the radio stations set in New Zealand. 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 - **Compared**: More FM and The Sound - **Competitive set**: radio stations - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **More FM Share of Search**: 4.9% - **The Sound Share of Search**: 0.56% ## Is More FM or The Sound more popular in search? - In September 2026, More FM had more branded searches than The Sound among radio stations in New Zealand. More FM had about 11,200 branded searches, while The Sound had 1,300. More FM made up 4.9% of all radio station searches we track, and The Sound accounted for 0.56%. - More FM was ahead of The Sound in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, More FM’s share of searches among radio stations in New Zealand moved from 6% to 4.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 14K to 11.2K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, The Sound’s share of searches among radio stations in New Zealand held steady at 0.56%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.3K. ## Top radio stations in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, More FM was mentioned in three out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. The Sound was mentioned in two out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in both Google AI Overviews. More FM was listed before The Sound in every answer that named either. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | RNZ National | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Newstalk ZB | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | ZM | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | The Edge | 4th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | More FM | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | The Rock | 6th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | The Hits | 7th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | The Breeze | 8th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | George FM | 9th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | The Sound | 10th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Coast | 11th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Mai FM | 12th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Radio Hauraki | 13th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Flava | 14th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Magic | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about radio stations - Asked ChatGPT "Which radio station should I use in New Zealand?": 1. ZM, 2. RNZ National, 3. The Breeze, 4. The Rock - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best radio stations in New Zealand?": 1. The Edge, 2. ZM, 3. More FM, 4. The Rock, 5. George FM, 6. RNZ National, 7. The Breeze, 8. Newstalk ZB, 9. Radio Hauraki, 10. Mai FM - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best radio station in New Zealand for music and news?": 1. Newstalk ZB, 2. RNZ National, 3. The Breeze, 4. The Hits - Searched Google, AI Overview "new zealand radio stations": 1. Newstalk ZB, 2. RNZ National, 3. The Edge, 4. The Hits, 5. ZM, 6. More FM, 7. The Rock, 8. The Sound, 9. Coast, 10. George FM, 11. Mai FM, 12. Flava, 13. Radio Hauraki - Searched Google, AI Overview "radio stations nz": 1. Newstalk ZB, 2. RNZ National, 3. The Edge, 4. The Hits, 5. ZM, 6. More FM, 7. The Rock, 8. The Sound, 9. Coast, 10. George FM, 11. Mai FM, 12. Flava, 13. Radio Hauraki Not named in any answer: Magic. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand radio stations in September 2026? - In September 2026, The Edge overtook Radio Hauraki and 5 others to rank 5th among radio stations in New Zealand, with 5% of the searches. - In September 2026, More FM lost share of searches among radio stations in New Zealand, from 5.4% to 4.9%. - In September 2026, The Sound rose from 14th to 13th among radio stations in New Zealand. ## Month by month | Month | More FM estimated searches | More FM Share of Search | More FM rank | The Sound estimated searches | The Sound Share of Search | The Sound rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 14K | 6% | 5 | 1.3K | 0.56% | 14 | | Nov 2025 | 11K | 5% | 7 | 1K | 0.46% | 14 | | Dec 2025 | 9.4K | 5% | 7 | 1K | 0.53% | 14 | | Jan 2026 | 9.3K | 5.1% | 7 | 880 | 0.48% | 14 | | Feb 2026 | 11.4K | 6.2% | 5 | 880 | 0.48% | 14 | | Mar 2026 | 13.5K | 6.2% | 5 | 880 | 0.41% | 14 | | Apr 2026 | 9.5K | 4.7% | 6 | 880 | 0.43% | 14 | | May 2026 | 11.2K | 5.6% | 5 | 1K | 0.5% | 14 | | Jun 2026 | 11.2K | 5.7% | 5 | 1K | 0.51% | 14 | | Jul 2026 | 9.4K | 5.2% | 6 | 880 | 0.48% | 14 | | Aug 2026 | 11.6K | 5.4% | 6 | 880 | 0.41% | 14 | | Sep 2026 | 11.2K | 4.9% | 6 | 1.3K | 0.56% | 13 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using More FM’s and The Sound’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **More FM**: Measured on the search terms “More FM”, “more fm breakfast”, “more fm dunedin”, “more fm live”, “more fm manawatu”, “more fm northland”, “more fm playlist”, “more fm rova”, “more fm southland”, “more fm taranaki”, “more fm waikato”, “morefm” and “rova more fm”, summed into one figure. - **The Sound**: Measured on the search term “the sound radio”. - [More FM profile](/demand/nz/brands/more-fm) - [The Sound profile](/demand/nz/brands/the-sound-radio) - [All radio stations in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-radio-stations): The set both shares are measured inside, 15 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is More FM or The Sound more popular in search? In September 2026, More FM had more branded searches than The Sound among radio stations in New Zealand. More FM had about 11,200 branded searches, while The Sound had 1,300. More FM made up 4.9% of all radio station searches we track, and The Sound accounted for 0.56%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "More FM vs The Sound: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/more-fm-vs-the-sound-radio This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/more-fm-vs-the-sound-radio. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.