--- title: "NBA vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, NBA or NRL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports leagues 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/nba-vs-nrl" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # NBA vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, NBA or NRL? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports leagues 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**: NBA and NRL - **Competitive set**: Sports leagues - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **NBA Share of Search**: 1.8% - **NRL Share of Search**: 76.1% ## Which is more popular in search, NBA or NRL? - In August 2026, NRL had more branded searches than NBA among sports leagues in New Zealand. NRL was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to NBA’s 68.9K, and held a 76.1% Share of Search versus NBA’s 1.8%. - The lead changed hands once in the 11 months ending August 2026: NRL took it in March 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NBA’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand moved from 28.2% to 1.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 731K to 68.9K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, NRL’s estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand moved from 14.4% to 76.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 374K to 2.9M. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand sports leagues in August 2026? - In August 2026, Premier League overtook NBA to rank 2nd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 11.5%. - In August 2026, A-League overtook NBA to rank 3rd among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 5.7%. - In August 2026, NFL overtook NBA to rank 5th among sports leagues in New Zealand, at 2.1%. - In August 2026, NRL lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 85.2% to 76.1%. - In August 2026, NBA lost estimated Share of Search among sports leagues in New Zealand, from 5.1% to 1.8%. ## Month by month | Month | NBA estimated searches | NBA Share of Search | NBA rank | NRL estimated searches | NRL Share of Search | NRL rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 731K | 28.2% | 1 | 374K | 14.4% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 1.2M | 41.1% | 1 | 103K | 3.5% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 1M | 33.1% | 1 | 54.9K | 1.8% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 1M | 33.1% | 1 | 68.4K | 2.2% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 818K | 30.4% | 2 | 287K | 10.7% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 1M | 26.2% | 2 | 1.3M | 34% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 1.5M | 27.7% | 2 | 2M | 38.4% | 1 | | May 2026 | 2M | 32.6% | 2 | 2.1M | 33.8% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 1.2M | 38.2% | 2 | 1.7M | 56.7% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 108K | 5.1% | 2 | 1.8M | 85.2% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 68.9K | 1.8% | 6 | 2.9M | 76.1% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using NBA’s and NRL’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. - **NBA**: Measured on the search terms “nba”, “nba com”, “nba draft”, “nba draw”, “nba finals”, “nba fixtures”, “nba games”, “nba games today”, “nba ladder”, “nba near me”, “nba news”, “nba nz”, “nba online”, “nba players”, “nba playoffs”, “nba result”, “nba result today”, “nba scores”, “nba standings”, “nba stats”, “nba today” and “nba trades”, summed into one figure. - **NRL**: Measured on the 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” and “nrl w”, summed into one figure. - [NBA profile](/demand/nz/brands/nba) - [NRL profile](/demand/nz/brands/nrl) - [All sports leagues in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-sports-leagues): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is more popular in search, NBA or NRL? In August 2026, NRL had more branded searches than NBA among sports leagues in New Zealand. NRL was estimated to have 2.9M branded searches compared to NBA’s 68.9K, and held a 76.1% Share of Search versus NBA’s 1.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "NBA vs NRL: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/nba-vs-nrl This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/nba-vs-nrl. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.