Warranty is another form of insurance; it's just a different sort of "PLAN", and all insurance is a rip-off. Statistically, you will never have a need for homeowners insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, ANY insurance, you name it because the odds are you won't ever need to file a claim, or, in other words, it is only the MINORITY of a population that ever suffers such a loss that ANY insurance plan will cover, and if some day you do, you still may have paid more in premiums than what they've paid in premiums. This is how insurance works and why the insurance companies are among the WEALTHIEST companies in the world. Of course, a good dose of denying legitimate claims also keeps the profits healthy, as well having deductibles that are higher than the damages of the vast majority of when things do go wrong: you still get to pay for it, even with a lower deductible, but a higher premium: insurance co's never lose . There are probably only a few GOOD plans out there, but most Joe Blows all have the BAD ones. Just about every building over 3 stories is owned by an insurance company. More stuff, but too long as it is.
Having said all that, why do people, including your truly, buy insurance, anyway? For peace of mind and not having to come up with a wad of cash or because your finance company or bank REQUIRES it. I think I think the Dish PP being good or bad is relates to each individual household. In my case, Dish had to replace about $1,500 of owned equipment that stayed owned after replacement. I estimate them having to stand behind about another $800 of leased equipment and LABOR. In my case the Dish PP has MORE than paid for itself. The numbers, over time, work in my favor. As soon as they see DPP on my account, no hassle, no haggling, no hesitations, they just make it happen, and there were a few times they had to do this 3 times in 2 weeks, but no hesitation whatsoever in sending replacements and techs at no costs (I have never been charged the $15, yet). I admit I have a larger system and more boxes/TV's. Now, I don't know if DishPP makes sense for a household with only one DP301 on their entire account. They may do better to pass on it.
Let's be clear, cable now charges for fixes and labor, and they too offer their own "protection plans" as does DirecTV, so this is an industry norm, not a Dish exclusive to get more money. This is an add on that customers choose for themselves if they want, as it should be. The "Lease" notion is just that you don't have to pay full retail up-front. The notion that it ought to include unlimited warranty is from the OLD days of MONOPOLY telephone, utility, cable TV companies where the govt. REQUIRED them to adhere to "full warranty" ONLY because they were monopolies. Since, then, local phone companies CHARGE for wiring repairs that are in your home and do charge for some services, such as moving areal lines to accommodate home improvement, etc., unless you have one of THEIR add-on warranties.
Dish is just like everyone else in this respect.