I have been a DirecTV customer for some time now and have had few problems with my service. When I visit the PowerGrandma, a cable subscriber, I often see television ads that suggest that DSS customers often lose their satellite signal on cloudy days. That's true, but I only lose my signal when animals are beginning to pair up and move towards the big boat parked out back in the ravine (i.e. when the clouds are very thick with rain or snow).
As a spontaneous test, I threw 5 hand towels (unfolded) over our satellite dish. The first towel had no effect on the reception on our telly. Neither did the second, third, fourth, or fifth. I never lost the reception.
Take that, cable monopolists.