Ep. 30: Andreas Heyden - The idea and strategy behind Dyn, the new kid on the German block

Dyn: Innovating the Sports Streaming Ecosystem in Germany Andreas Heyden, CEO of Dyn, a new German streaming platform, shares his journey and insights into the world of sports streaming in an engaging interview. With a background in the internet and video-on-demand business since 1997, Heyden has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the sports industry. His experience at DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, the governing body of Bundesliga, has given him a unique perspective on the power of sports content and its ability to capture attention like no other. Heyden's latest venture, Dyn, is a streaming ecosystem that aggregates tier-two sports in Germany, such as handball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and table tennis. These sports collectively represent roughly 50% of the sports interest in the country, with a target group the size of the Netherlands. Heyden explains, "These sports rights of really great, great sports that we have acquired are not there in the position like an NFL, like an NBA, that they have the manpower, the knowledge, the technology, for sure they have the aspiration to grow and we are there to help them to grow." What sets Dyn apart is its comprehensive approach to the streaming ecosystem. The platform not only licenses content but also produces games, builds remote production capabilities, and provides a content desk for leagues and clubs. Heyden emphasizes the importance of creating demand throughout the week, not just on the weekends. "We truly believe demand on the weekend is created during the match week. During the week," he states. One of the key advantages of Dyn is its cloud-native infrastructure. Heyden explains, "If you look under our tables, if you look in our server rooms, there's not much metal and silicon laying around. Because we are in an event-driven business, we have roughly two and a half thousand events per year on 200 days." This scalable and cost-effective infrastructure allows Dyn to be agile and innovative in its approach. Building a diverse and passionate team has been crucial to Dyn's success. Heyden shares, "We get really bright minds from McKinsey, from DfL, from football clubs, from big media companies, from audible, et cetera, who have a professional career, who are very professional and who are bright people and great colleagues. And they work so hard and they are so committed to the project because they believe in the vision." Dyn's content strategy focuses on building a home for each sport rather than becoming a "Netflix of sports." Heyden explains, "For me to go broad and have now canoeing or climbing or something like this, maybe in beautiful sports, beautiful sports, but it's not serialized content, so you don't have a real leak. And it would be just another sport to our sports. I'd rather invest my time and money in making the best handball experience, the best basketball experience, the best table tennis experience." Looking ahead, Heyden sees potential in expanding Dyn's non-live content offerings, such as documentaries, but emphasizes the importance of perfecting live content first. He also recognizes the crucial role of social media in brand building and creating attention for the sports featured on the platform. In conclusion, Andreas Heyden and Dyn are revolutionizing the sports streaming landscape in Germany by focusing on tier-two sports and creating a comprehensive ecosystem that benefits leagues, clubs, and fans alike. With a cloud-native infrastructure, a passionate team, and a content strategy that prioritizes depth over breadth, Dyn is well-positioned to grow and thrive in the years to come.