The World Cup is an exception. Fun is more fragmented than ever

A local content boom is rewriting the rules of entertainment — and of soft power.

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With lyrics in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, the theme tune of the men’s World Cup, performed at its opening ceremony on June 11, exemplifies the contest’s claim to foster global unity.

Nearly half the world is expected to tune in over the coming weeks as the tournament moves towards its final on the outskirts of New York. A viewer might come away with two conclusions. First, that entertainment culture is more globalised than ever. Second, that America remains the soft-power superpower at the centre of it all.

Both assumptions would be wrong. Mega-events like the World Cup still seize global attention. But the bigger picture is that entertainment is fragmenting.

From music to television to social media and gaming, audiences are tuning out of American content and embracing alternatives from closer to home.

There is an emerging paradox: Even as the world becomes more connected, people are embracing more local forms of fun. Even as billions tune in to a single show in North America, the American-led monoculture is fading.

This local turn is the opposite of what many predicted. Global entertainment platforms like Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, and the Apple and Google mobile-app stores give people everywhere access to the same music, video and games. The biggest winners have been a lopsidedly American elite of megastars and brands - think Taylor Swift, MrBeast or Roblox - which have gone global as never before. The biggest sports leagues have soared in value along with them.

But below the top tier, entertainment is fragmenting.