Damn, I got scared into buying a new scanner !!!!! Not really, since I had been thinking about it ever since my Nikon acted up and I didn't have a halfway decent backup. I guess what you're showing is why I never believe 100% of what I hear anymore and only 50% of what I see. With AI kicking in it will soon be 100% non-belief for both hearing and seeing.
The guy that put this "information" out on his YouTube channel is just fishing for traffic, I expect. I mean, his is the ONLY data point supporting the "Epson is quitting scanners" hypothesis. That video is now close to 6 months old and still the only "report". If it had turned out to be factual, it would be all over the photo news sites.
I call BS.
Yes, I saw/read the same thing about Epson bowing out of the scanner business and decided to jump on a V850 (actually a Japanese model 980). I like everything about the scanner except the "dust magnet" negative holders/carriers.
If it's not discontinued, then Epson really ought to update their EU and UK sites.
The pages for those products all have a bright orange banner stating "Discontinued product - Sorry this product is no longer available. Please see below for continued support", which is not exactly indirect in its meaning, and says nothing about it being a regional thing.