How can product leaders deliver exceptional customer experiences? In this episode of the CPO Rising Series hosted by Products That Count Resident CPO Renee Niemi, NBCUniversal CPO Jim Denney shares insights on driving innovation and delivering exceptional customer experiences, drawing from his experience leading products like Peacock, Fandango, and the Olympics streaming coverage. He discusses his career journey and defining product experiences at TiVo and NBCUniversal, the innovations in the Olympics streaming experience and the importance of user control, the balance of art and science in product management including the role of AI, best practices for building a high-performing product team and driving accountability, and the future of product management and why it won’t be replaced by bots anytime soon.
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Show Notes:
- Jim Denney is the Chief Product Officer of Direct to Consumer at NBCUniversal, responsible for products like Peacock, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, and NBC Sports.
- Peacock has been the fastest-growing streaming service in the US over the last two years, with a robust content offering.
- Jim’s experience working on TiVo was a defining moment in his career.
- The ability to touch all aspects of the product solidified product management as the right career choice for Jim.
- Jim has a saying, “When 10 people own a problem, nobody owns the problem,” emphasizing the importance of clear accountability.
- Jim sends a weekly “Three Things” email to keep his team and leadership informed about key initiatives and priorities.
- The Olympics streaming experience has evolved from Tokyo to Beijing to Paris, with new features like multi-view and live action.
- Putting the customer first is crucial, whether it’s the end-user, operations, marketing, or the business.
- Jim uses a balance of research, usability testing, and experimentation to validate assumptions and improve the customer experience.
- Innovation and the human touch are essential in product management, which AI cannot replace anytime soon.
- AI can be a helpful tool for product managers in areas like recommendations and content delivery.
- Clear accountability and empowerment are key practices that have made Jim’s team a competitive weapon.
- 1The weekly “Three Things” email has been an effective communication tool to keep the team and leadership informed.
- The combination of the Olympics and Super Bowl streaming on Peacock was a highly-rated success.
- 13 new features are being developed to enhance the streaming experience for the Paris Olympics.
- The ability to give users control over their viewing experience, similar to TiVo, is a priority.
- Product management is both an art and a science, requiring a balance of data, intuition, and innovation.
- Internal customers, such as marketing and growth teams, are important to consider when building tools and features.
- Customer care and the tools provided to chat agents are crucial for improving the end-user experience.
- The multi-dimensional nature of product management, touching various aspects of the business, is a key aspect of the role.
About the speaker
Jim Denney serves as Chief Product Officer & Executive Vice President, Peacock and Direct to Consumer and Global Streaming, NBCUniversal. In this role, Denney leads all aspects of development and implementation of Peacock’s global product strategy. With a heavy focus on user experience, he is responsible for the product vision and strategy for all direct-to-consumer brands, inclusive of NBCUniversal’s digital platforms, broadcast and cable OTT apps, NBC Sports, Fandango, Sky Now and hayu. He reports to Matt Strauss, Chairman, Direct to Consumer, NBCUniversal. Denney previously served as Head of Product & Vice President of Product Management at Hulu. In this role he led product management and strategy with a focus on re-inventing the future of television. Beyond building an emerging live TV service, Denney was instrumental spearheading industry-changing capabilities focused on organization, experience, engagement, billing, device partnerships and integrations. He directed Hulu’s transformative cross-team efforts to ship innovative features, including a complete redesign of the user experience for SVOD and live-streaming. Earlier in his career, Denney spent 15+ years at Tivo, overseeing the company’s domestic and international advanced television products and technology services, which encompassed building both engineering and product teams responsible for developing cutting edge technology. Spanning a diverse set of product lines, he focused on television, mobile, data management, communication tools, cloud service infrastructure and scalability. From a business operational standpoint, Denney played a significant role working with corporate development to identify and acquire select companies, advancing TiVo's goals and objectives while expanding the product portfolio. Denney holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and is a Primetime Emmy® winner for his work at TiVo. He resides in New York City.