• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 11, 2010

Epix, the fledgling pay channel that has struggled to find distribution, has received a boost via a deal with the country's third-largest cable operator. The agreement with Cox could bring a consumer offering similar to what Epix has with Verizon FiOS.

The FiOs customer base is closing in on 3 million that pay about $10 a month for access to the channel on a premium tier. That includes HD and VOD versions, plus the ability to watch full-length films on EpixHD.com.

Cox serves more than 5 million homes, according to a cable industry trade group, but it is unclear how many will be able to purchase Epix when it becomes available on Cox systems in April. No other details were available.

Epix is jointly owned by three movie studios: Viacom's Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. Its core offering includes films from the studios, but is also trying to produce TV series.

Bob Wilson, senior vice president of programming for Cox, stated that the deal allows for "viewer access to movies across multiple availability windows and platforms -- linear, transactional movies on demand, subscription video on demand and online."

Mark Greenberg, president of Epix, and has said that breaking even may take longer than planned, since distribution has been difficult to secure. (Verizon is the only distributor carrying it so far.) The slate of movies Epix offers ranges from "Paranormal Activity" to "Precious."