Details of the cost of webcasting York’s full Council and Executive committee meetings have been revealed.

During the last 4 years a total of £99,000 has been paid to contractors “Pilot Theatre”.

The details were revealed in a response to an FOI request. The request was made by the Conservative candidate in the June local by election in the Hull Road Ward.

One commentator has said “a permanent webcasting solution could be put in place at a fraction of that price”

The main concern seems to be the absence of an open tendering process for the service, although the Council says that this has been complicated by its planned short term move to the Citadel Hall in Gillygate (while building works at the Guildhall take place)

The exchange doesn’t ask how much the in house broadcasting of small committee meetings costs, nor is information provided about the number of people who actually view the web casts.

In most cases, viewer numbers are thought to be measured in dozens rather than hundreds (including a chunk from outside the UK who are practising their language skills!).

The Tories may have a point. One of the promises of the new York TV station was that it would provide free access to material of this sort, so perhaps there are cheaper ways of doing things?