Crossed Wires

What Crossed Wires does

Crossed Wires is a Sheffield-based live events company that operates what it describes as 'The World's Biggest Podcast Festival' — a four-day annual gathering (July 2-5, 2026) staging live recordings of leading UK and international podcast shows across the city's most iconic venues, including Sheffield City Hall, the Crucible Theatre, and the Playhouse Theatre. The company was founded by podcaster Alice Levine, producer Dino Sofos, and Tramlines co-founder James O'Hara, with BBC Radio 1's Greg James joining as Creative Director in the festival's second year. Its core customer base consists of devoted podcast culture enthusiasts, comedy and culture fans, and families who travel nationally to attend live recordings and meet podcast hosts.

The company's product surface centres on the annual festival, expanded in 2026 with a dedicated BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 Fringe programme offering free live episode recordings (Dead Ringers, Woman's Hour, Newscast, The Radio 2 Book Club, and The Archers 75th Anniversary) at Cole Brothers and The Montgomery venues. Revenue is generated through four streams: ticket sales for paid festival events, year-round sponsorship and partnership income, a new merchandise and e-commerce line, and BBC fringe content licensing/royalty arrangements. Tickets are distributed direct-to-consumer via crossedwires.os.fan and through Sheffield venue box offices. The company has no proprietary technology platform; operations are content and event-led rather than technology-led.

Crossed Wires is currently transitioning from a single annual event into a year-round platform, with stated ambitions to add touring shows, pop-ups, workshops, satellite events, owned podcasts and video content, and international (US-focused) expansion. The company is recruiting its first formal Managing Director to execute this transition, reporting to the Board of Directors. The firm remains privately held by its founding team with no disclosed external funding, operates with 1-10 employees, and is incorporated as Crossed Wires Limited in the United Kingdom.

Name

Crossed Wires

Legal name

Crossed Wires Limited

Website

https://crossedwires.live

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Crossed Wires is a Sheffield-based live events company operating what it describes as the world's biggest podcast festival, staging four days of live podcast recordings, comedy shows, and BBC fringe programming across the city's iconic venues for devoted podcast culture enthusiasts and national event-goers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Entertainment Events

akta.pro primary industry

Live Podcast Recordings (MPAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Live podcast events
• Podcast festival
• Live recordings
• Podcast culture events
• Entertainment festivals

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue from selling tickets and passes to the annual festival and individual shows across multiple venues.
2. Sponsorship and Partnerships: Year-round partnership and sponsorship strategies to support revenue diversification.
3. Merchandise and E-commerce: Launching new merchandise and e-commerce revenue streams as part of year-round growth plan.
4. BBC Fringe Content: BBC-sponsored fringe programme with free shows at Cole Brothers and The Montgomery venues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crossed Wires is an annual live podcast festival held in Sheffield, UK, featuring live podcast recordings, exclusive shows, and immersive experiences across the city's iconic venues such as City Hall, the Crucible, and the Playhouse. The company also runs a BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 Fringe programme offering free live recordings, and is expanding into year-round merchandise, touring shows, workshops, and digital content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crossed Wires Festival The flagship annual four-day live podcast festival held July 2-5, 2026 in Sheffield, UK, featuring live recordings of major national podcasts across multiple iconic venues including City Hall, the Crucible, and the Playhouse Theatre. Targeted at podcast culture enthusiasts who attend live recordings and meet podcast hosts.
• BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 Fringe Programme A free fringe programming strand offered in partnership with BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, featuring live episode recordings of BBC podcasts including Dead Ringers, Woman's Hour, Newscast, The Archers Podcast 75th Anniversary, and BBC Radio 2 Book Club at Cole Brothers and The Montgomery venues in Sheffield. Targeted at BBC Radio listeners and comedy/culture fans.
• Crossed Wires Merchandise and E-commerce Branded merchandise and e-commerce offering being launched as part of the year-round platform expansion. Targeted at podcast festival attendees and brand fans.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 July 2026BBC Sounds Audio Lab and BBC Radio 4 Fringe programme at Crossed Wires Festival 2026. BBC provides curated fringe programming with free live episode recordings at Cole Brothers and The Montgomery venues. Includes shows like Dead Ringers, Woman's Hour, Newscast, and The Radio 2 Book Club.
• BBC Radio 2coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 July 2026BBC Radio 2 Book Club with Sara Cox and special guest Lisa Jewell at the festival. BBC Radio 2 provides programming talent and cross-promotion through radio broadcast channels.
• Sheffield City HallcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Primary festival venue hosting major shows including Bad Chat with Greg James + Alice Levine, The Elis and John Show, The Blindboy Podcast, The Magnus Archives, and After Party: All My Friends.
• Crucible TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Iconic Sheffield theatre venue hosting Bold Politics with Zack Polanski, Dig It with Jo Whiley & Zoe Ball, and Nick Cope Family Show.
• Cole BrotherscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Main BBC Fringe venue for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds programming including Dead Ringers, Newscast, and multiple BBC Radio events.
• Playhouse TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Sheffield theatre hosting Northern News, If I Speak, The Psychology of your 20s, and family programming including Story Shed.
• The MontgomerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026BBC Fringe venue for The Archers Podcast 75th Anniversary recording and additional BBC Radio 4 programming.
• Sheffield TheatrescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2026Partner venues offering step-free access, accessible toilets, wheelchair spaces, and assistance for those with mobility needs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Latitude Festival: Latitude is a UK arts and music festival that includes comedy, podcast, and spoken-word stages alongside headline music. It competes for the same discretionary live-event spend and overlaps in comedy/podcast programming.
• Hay Festival: Hay Festival is a long-running UK literary and arts festival featuring live talks, comedy, and podcast-adjacent programming. Comparable to Crossed Wires as a UK cultural festival brand with year-round potential and a multi-venue, multi-format live experience.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest arts and comedy festival with live spoken-word and comedy performances. It overlaps with Crossed Wires on live comedy, spoken-word programming, and multi-venue festival infrastructure, though it is much broader in scope.
• Glastonbury Festival: Glastonbury is the UK's flagship cultural mega-festival, explicitly cited by Crossed Wires as their category benchmark ('the Glastonbury of podcast festivals'). It shares a live, multi-venue community-driven festival model and aspirational brand positioning.

Emerging players

• VidCon: VidCon is the leading global creator-economy fan convention spanning YouTube, TikTok, and podcast creators. While broader than podcasts, it competes for the same live-fan-meets-creator occasion and adjacent sponsorship budgets.
• SXSW London: SXSW London is a new UK extension of the SXSW festival brand blending tech, music, comedy, and culture. It overlaps with Crossed Wires on comedy and live-audio programming and represents a capital-rich potential competitor for sponsorship and audiences.
• MCM Comic-Con London: MCM Comic-Con is a UK fan convention brand running multi-venue city events with creator meet-and-greets and live programming. Comparable in operating model and community-fan-occasion dynamics to Crossed Wires.

Direct peers

• The Podcast Show: The Podcast Show is a large UK B2B/B2C podcast industry event held in London. It is the closest direct competitor to Crossed Wires, also bringing together podcast talent, fans, and creators for live recordings and networking.
• Podcast Movement: Podcast Movement is the largest US podcast industry conference and live-event brand, running annual conventions with live recordings and community programming. It is the international reference point for the category Crossed Wires dominates in the UK.
• Summer in the City: Summer in the City is a UK-based annual fan convention for YouTube creators and podcasters with live shows and meet-and-greets. It competes for the same podcast- and creator-economy audience and operates a similar fan-event model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crossedwires_
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crossed-wires-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crossed Wires