Outline of entertainment

The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to entertainment and the entertainment industry:

Entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time, and may also provide fun, enjoyment, and laughter. People may create their own entertainment, such as when they spontaneously invent a game; participate actively in an activity they find entertaining, such as when they play sport as a hobby; or consume an entertainment product passively, such as when they attend a performance.

The entertainment industry (informally known as show business or show biz) is part of the tertiary sector of the economy and includes many sub-industries devoted to entertainment. However, the term is often used in the mass media to describe the mass media companies that control the distribution and manufacture of mass media entertainment. In the popular parlance, the term show biz in particular connotes the commercially popular performing arts, especially musical theatre, vaudeville, comedy, film, fun and music. It applies to every aspect of entertainment including cinema, television, radio, theatre and music.