Creditors to US satellite television firm Dish Network plan to block a distressed exchange that’s a key part of its tie-up with rival DirecTV, according to people familiar with the matter.

Credit ratings agency S&P Global notes the "linear TV industry is rapidly shrinking" and the increased scale provided by a merger may not offset subscriber declines.

DirecTV's agreement to buy the Dish satellite and streaming TV business from EchoStar is facing opposition from Dish creditors who would be forced to take a loss on the value of their debt. Dish creditors "plan to block a distressed exchange that's a key part of its tie-up with rival DirecTV,

In this era of cord cutting the announced merger of DirecTV with Dish/Sling would result in 18 million subscribers, making it the largest pay-TV distributor