DirecTV has ended its agreement to acquire EchoStar's satellite television business, including Dish TV, after a failed debt-exchange offer.

The goal of the proposed deal was to create one of the largest pay-TV distributors in the U.S., with a combined subscriber base of 20 million.

However, the success of the transaction depended on Dish bondholders agreeing to exchange their existing debt for new debt at a discounted rate, which was rejected by approximately 85% of them.

The deal, which was announced in September, would have involved DirecTV paying $1 for Dish DBS, which includes Dish and Sling TV, and taking on around $9.75 billion of Dish's debt.

DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow explained that terminating the agreement was necessary to protect the company's financial position and operational flexibility.

The collapse of the deal is a significant setback for EchoStar, which has a debt burden of over $20 billion.