‘Dr. Dino’ a.k.a. James Borbath from Dino Nation Blog, is a Broadcast Journalism Grad turned basketball blogger. He has worked as the publisher and writer of the Dino Nation Blog for almost 2 years. Dino Nation Blog is part of the sports federation of theScore.com. James also live blogs many NBA games for The Score.
Chris Bosh is becoming a franchise off the court. You can still debate if he is on the court. But his smarts off the court are without question. The latest in a long line of non-basketball ventures is his recent signing of a deal to produce his own CD and DVD with Warner Music Canada. It was announced late Monday afternoon that the Raptor All-Star has teamed up with Warner Music Canada. As for the CD it is going to be an album of artists that Bosh will select. So incase you were wondering, no he is not going to actually Rap like A.I, Shaq, Ron Artest or Tony Parker. As for the DVD it is going to be produced by Max Deal Technologies President Hadi Teherany and Bosh. The DVD will include a number of the Chris Bosh characters he has created in his YouTube videos and it will also have Bosh giving a tour of his home town and telling his personal story that lead to him becoming an NBA Star.
But there is more. Bosh is also going to be the first ever athlete to have his very own iPhone and Ipod Touch Application, aka ‘App’. In the struggling economy electronic devices, like blackberries and iPhones and their applications, have managed to somehow stay relatively sheltered from the slowing consumer spending. The announcement of the CB4 App. has been hyped up by Bosh through his website chris-bosh.com. The site made famous from his famous All Star voting campaign ad.
Here is what Bosh had to say about the new deal with Warner:
“This is exciting,” says Bosh. “Teaming up with Warner to produce my very own CD and DVD, as well as being the first athlete with their very own iPhone and iPod touch application, are just two more ways for fans to get to know me off the court. Entertaining my fans through the use of technology allows me to continue to try and pioneer the digital space for athletes across the world!”
Warner Music had nothing but glowing comments about their new ‘larger than life’ partner:
“Chris Bosh is obviously talented on and off the basketball court,” says Steve Kane, President, Warner Music Canada . “We know that nothing like this has ever been tried before with an athlete but we have followed Chris’ incredible viral success with his videos online and we are very excited about the possibilities of this new partnership.”
Warner also gave this description of the CB4 app and how you can get it:
The ground-breaking Chris Bosh app for iPhone and iPod touch was created with OneMethod Inc. Digital + Design. It allows fans to keep track of Chris’ Twitter feed, watch his latest videos as soon as they’re posted, view his latest photos and keep track of updated game stats throughout the NBA season.
Download Chris Bosh iPhone and iTouch App by clicking here.
What you will not find in this story is a mention about the future of Chris Bosh on the court. Is there a hint in the fact he signed a deal with a company in Canada? Though I am sure Warner has offices in the U.S.A. What Bosh’s detractor’s will say is this is exactly why Bosh will never be a max player or should be a max player. They make the argument that Bosh is focused more on his off the court ventures than he is on his on the court play. Do they have a point? Maybe, but does he do any more than a Kobe or a Lebron in terms of marketing himself? It makes for an interesting debate.
So while his facebook page still gets filled daily with fans of various teams making their pitches on why he should come sign with their hometown club, Bosh is busy doing what he does. Chris Bosh has been a leader of the pack when it comes to his domination of the new age media. League-wide fans want to see him do the same on the floor. He is an All-Star level player that some people in Toronto think may never reach that elite level. Bosh was only 1 of 3 players this season to average a 20 and 10 season. New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, and the Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, are the other two. So the CB4 brand on and off the floor is hot, hot, hot!!! If you would like to read the full press release you can check it out here.
