This is probably the most important point that people seem to be avoiding.
It doesn't matter how they try to spin it at this point, whether or not they own the series. They fucked up.
The man didn't word it wrong, he just changed his mind and made a liar out of himself. Time and time again he insisted that he wouldn't do paid-exclusive videos.
Vessel however didn't make a liars out of anyone, the creators could turn it down if they wanted too. They're not going bankrupt without this money they're gonna be making now. They just plain old lied.