Mentsch, do you know how many litvishe and chasidishe baalei batim have joined dirshu’s mishnah berurah program? They learn practical halacha everyday and are tested on it. It’s incredible.
The poskim are clear that one who only has a short amount of time to learn should learn halacha, but there are other considerations; for some baalebatim, the responsibility they feel for finishing the daf yomi makes them learn, and they simply wouldn’t learn consistently otherwise. So that’s a reason for a Rav not to chastise his shul overv its daf yomi shiurim.
I’m not a proponent of the current state of daf yomi at all, as my previous posts on the subject indicate. But if it’s that or nothing… It’s obviously better.