DirecTV Now: A trial is free, but it's a hard sell for some

NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T says the market for its new internet cable service , DirecTV Now, could be as large as 20 million households.

To put it to the test, I farmed out part of this review to several friends and relatives.

Why wouldn't people jump at the chance to try something new?

[...] maybe my picks, while a diverse bunch, just aren't "early adopters" — those who jump to try out new technology.

[...] their hesitation might also foreshadow some challenges for AT&T. Most of my friends and family are happy enough with their current TV options that they felt no need to try something different, even when it was free.

Others lacked the extra gadgets needed to watch DirecTV Now on a TV set, though they could use phones or tablets.

[...] NFL games are blacked out on mobile, the Golden Globes award show wasn't available, and a lot of people can't get the major broadcasters to begin with because of rights issues like these.

[...] issues might help explain why customers remain scarce, nearly two years after DirecTV Now rivals Sling TV and PlayStation Vue launched.

Neither releases customer numbers, but Sling, thought to be the more popular service, is estimated to have fewer than a million subscribers.

Dana Arbel, 27, yoga teacher and volunteer coordinator for an education nonprofit.

Lives with roommates in Boston, with cable and access to Netflix, the commercial-light version of Hulu and HBO Go.

Lives with his dog in New York and watches Netflix, Amazon and one-off events via a family cable account.

With DirecTV Now, he binged on-demand episodes of FX's new show "Atlanta" and logged in a few times for cable news and independent films.

Lives with roommates in Boston and uses Netflix; he'll sometimes watch football a friend's house.