--- title: "The Hits vs ZM: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?" description: "Which is more popular in search, The Hits or ZM? 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/the-hits-vs-zm" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # The Hits vs ZM: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand? Which is more popular in search, The Hits or ZM? 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**: The Hits and ZM - **Competitive set**: radio stations - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Aug 2026 - **The Hits Share of Search**: 4.6% - **ZM Share of Search**: 4.6% ## Which is more popular in search, The Hits or ZM? - In August 2026, The Hits and ZM were level on Share of Search among radio stations in New Zealand, with an estimated 10.6K versus 10.4K branded searches, at 4.6% estimated Share of Search each. - The lead changed hands 2 times in the 11 months ending August 2026: ZM took it in April 2026, The Hits took it in May 2026. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, The Hits’ estimated Share of Search among radio stations in New Zealand moved from 4.7% to 4.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 11.2K to 10.6K. - Across the 11 months ending August 2026, ZM’s estimated Share of Search among radio stations in New Zealand moved from 3.5% to 4.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 8.3K to 10.4K. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand radio stations in August 2026? - In August 2026, Radio Hauraki overtook The Hits to rank 5th among radio stations in New Zealand, at 6.6%. - In August 2026, The Hits lost estimated Share of Search among radio stations in New Zealand, from 5.9% to 4.6%. - In August 2026, ZM rose from 9th to 8th among radio stations in New Zealand. ## Month by month | Month | The Hits estimated searches | The Hits Share of Search | The Hits rank | ZM estimated searches | ZM Share of Search | ZM rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 11.2K | 4.7% | 8 | 8.3K | 3.5% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | 9.6K | 4.5% | 8 | 7.6K | 3.6% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | 8.4K | 4.4% | 8 | 6.7K | 3.5% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | 8.3K | 4.5% | 8 | 8.2K | 4.4% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | 9.5K | 5% | 8 | 9K | 4.8% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | 9.7K | 4.3% | 8 | 8.9K | 4% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | 8K | 3.8% | 9 | 8.3K | 4% | 8 | | May 2026 | 9.9K | 5% | 8 | 9K | 4.6% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | 10.2K | 5.3% | 7 | 7.9K | 4.1% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | 11K | 5.9% | 6 | 7.7K | 4.1% | 9 | | Aug 2026 | 10.6K | 4.6% | 7 | 10.4K | 4.6% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using The Hits’ and ZM’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. - **The Hits**: Measured on the search terms “radio the hits”, “The Hits”, “the hits auckland”, “the hits chch”, “the hits christchurch”, “the hits dunedin”, “the hits fm”, “the hits hawkes bay”, “the hits just played”, “the hits listen live”, “the hits live”, “the hits live radio”, “the hits manawatu”, “the hits northland”, “the hits nz”, “the hits radio”, “the hits radio live”, “the hits radio station”, “the hits rotorua”, “the hits southland”, “the hits taranaki”, “the hits tauranga”, “the hits waikato” and “the hits wellington”, summed into one figure. - **ZM**: Measured on the search terms “iheartradio zm”, “live zm”, “online zm”, “radio zm”, “ZM”, “zm auckland”, “zm dunedin”, “zm listen live”, “zm live”, “zm online”, “zm online nz”, “zm radio”, “zm secret sound” and “zm wellington”, summed into one figure. - [The Hits profile](/demand/nz/brands/the-hits) - [ZM profile](/demand/nz/brands/zm) - [All radio stations in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-radio-stations): The set both shares are measured inside, 11 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, The Hits or ZM? In August 2026, The Hits and ZM were level on Share of Search among radio stations in New Zealand, with an estimated 10.6K versus 10.4K branded searches, at 4.6% estimated Share of Search each. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "The Hits vs ZM: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/the-hits-vs-zm This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/the-hits-vs-zm. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.