Pressbox

One obvious upside of media week at the Super Bowl for years has been the parties thrown around town. There's something for everyone, whether it's legends of the game or a feast for the eyes.

Last night, ESPN held their own party and brought their A-game to the table at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. The company tapped Ludacris to perform and saw an influx for the television, movie, music and sports industries all make their way in to the outdoor party despite the cold.

From the athletic world, attendees got to spot everyone from Chad Johnson to Raja Bell to Doug Williams.

Meanwhile, TV executives from the company took the opportunity to mix some business with pleasure.

"We just want to make sure everyone is having a good time," said George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN. "For the media industry, there's been a lot of talk about this game and I look forward to seeing it played out."

ESPN executives noted that they are already looking forward to next year's Super Bowl. That's when the company will again assume broad international carriage with NBC slated to carry the game. (Fox, this year's broadcaster, has a deeper international penetration, which limits ESPN's ability to carry the game overseas).

Russell Wolff, executive vice president and managing director of ESPN International, noted that he was hopeful that the next Super Bowl would break last year's all-time mark for the company, reaching 180 million people in 140 countries.