I am not 100% sure I see it this way - and I don't know if it's just my intense pessimism. But watching Willie speak in that vid, I got the feeling he wasn't convinced about what he was saying.

But your point is very plausible - that wasn't a Freudian slip or a simple misstatement, Willie was pretty damn specific and detailed. He could have said, "Of course, there's White Collar - we're still in negotiations for renewal. When that happens, filming will start ..."