About Those Dish TV Tornado Warning Ads

Dish TV's web site

I can't remember the last time, if ever, that I have commented on a TV commercial. But, I believe a couple of comments need to be made about the current Dish-TV commercial that depicts a tornado warning. 

Screen capture from Dish commercial depicting
people taking shelter during a tornado warning.

Besides getting the simulated image of a tornado's hook echo wrong, it is important to keep their claims in context when it comes to extreme weather warnings. 

Dish says it is 99% reliable, which means it is out of service 1% of the time. Now, let's do a little math:

.01%  X  365 days  =  3.65 days 

with a service issue

So, out of a 365 day year, Dish would fail nearly 4 days during that year. And, per Dish's web site, those days are most like to be when there is -- wait for it -- extremely bad weather. 

I do not care how you get your TV but it is misleading to imply that consumers can depend on satellite TV (we frequently lost signals when we briefly had DIRECT-TV) during tornadoes, blizzards, flash floods and other extreme weather.

If you have satellite TV or wish to subscribe, fine. Just have at least two of: a weather radio, an app like AccuWeather's, a commercial radio tuned to a station known to have quality weather coverage, or a digital off-air antenna that will allow you to receive local network stations. They will provide the storm warnings you need.