I also read the article. That the president of Epix, someone who should know what negotiations are taking place, using terms like "rumors" describing the status of a distribution deal with Dish, I find interesting.
You read the article, but did you watch the video? Greenberg never uses the term "rumor". For that matter, no one mentioned Dish either. He just says they are still in "advanced negotiations" with other providers. The "journalist" simply put her own spin on it for the written portion.
The actual interesting part of the interview wasn't mentioned in the article...Greenberg balked at the mention of the $9.99 price point, saying that is "only how FIOS has rolled it out" and that "other pricing structures will be put in place."
If it's true that FIOS is paying $1 for every basic subscriber, they are really making an interesting gamble. And EPIX is playing it pretty safe...getting payed a set amount no matter how many subscribers FIOS manages to sell to. Churn won't affect them, at least not until renegotiation time.