This Week in TV News: Boomers’ Shopping Habits and ‘American Horror Story’

This week, we’re talking about baby boomers’ purchasing habits, the “American Horror Story” season 9 premiere, and growing use of AI in TV.

Boomers’ digital shopping lags behind other generations. eMarketer found nearly 60% of baby boomers will buy something digitally this year, via a browser, phone or tablet. For millennials, that number is about 85%, and 78% of Gen Xers have purchased something digitally. eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver said that for boomers who are retirees, “the time-saving features of digital shopping are somewhat irrelevant” compared to young people who are in the middle of their careers or raising families. (eMarketer) 

“American Horror Story 1984” premieres this September. Set to haunt the houses of America Sept. 18th, this season will be a throwback to 80s thriller movies such as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Children of the Corn. The complete cast hasn’t been announced yet, but we do know that Emma Roberts will be returning and AHS star Evan Peters will take a break for this season. Fans are eagerly waiting to hear if Sarah Paulson will be returning. (Deadline)

AI use is growing in TV and movies. Fox Sports is incorporating IBM’s Watson technology into the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Commentators will host “Player Spotlight,” supported byWatson tech, which creates stat analyses in real time with goal, pass, and kick data from Opta. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Women’s U.S. soccer advances to quarterfinals. The U.S. beat Spain 2-1 on Monday; Megan Rapinoe scored the winning penalty kick with nine minutes left. More than 600,000 streamers watched the game, a 277% jump up from the 2015 World Cup. The U.S. will advance to the quarterfinals and play against France on Friday at 3pm. (Washington Post)

See last week’s TV trends.