Peter Larsson Retires With an RF Legacy That Spans the Globe He helped put the viewer in the driver's seat and wherever the action is By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 7:29 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Peter Larsson, one of the industry's true pioneers in RF and wireless systems (and a 2018 inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame), retired this month at the age of 66. The whole industry has changed, he says, and it's just time to let someone else take over.
Peter Larsson was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2018.
Larsson, as seen below in excerpts from his Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame bio, had a major role in making wireless camera systems possible not only technically but commercially. The early days were filled with the kind of innovations that, without the correct personalities, relationships, and business acumen, could have led to nothing.
He is the first to admit that, as he steps aside, the crystal ball of the future of wireless camera systems is a bit hazy as technologies like 5G and bonded cellular gain traction. But one thing he does know: wireless systems are more important than ever, and, when it comes to complex shows with multiple wireless systems, RF is still the best bet.
Things are more reliable now, he notes, but, as that reliability has gone up, so have the needs for our systems. We're constantly running out of spectrum, which means going to higher frequencies, and that means more infrastructure and complexity.
Larsson's efforts helped transform an industry, getting it to a place where handheld cameras in all shapes and sizes roam racetracks, golf courses, and fields of play to capture shots with more emotion, intimacy, and information. The co-founder of Broadcast Sports Inc. (BSI) and the wireless camera and audio systems he helped create over the past four decades have brought sports fans inside the action in ways never thought possible.
To be able to create equipment and technology that actually change the way we watch a sport is very rare. And Peter Larsson [has accomplished that] in two sports in particular: NASCAR and golf, says Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Chairman Ken Aagaard, who has deployed BSI systems on countless productions. Whether it's from a camera inside the car or a handheld right behind the golfer, Peter Larsson pioneered those technologies.
Early Days Down Under: Creating the Racecam The Sydney native earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the University of New South Wales. To fulfill the three months of industrial experience required to complete his degree, he landed a job at Australian broadcaster Channel Seven and, upon graduating, was hired on full-time as an ENG engineer.
By the late 1970s, Larsson had begun working with fellow Channel Seven Engineers John Porter (also a Hall of Famer) and Dave Curtis to develop wireless microwave camera systems to assist in the broadcaster's coverage of the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race. The trio quickly realized that the RF system could be applied to auto-racing coverage and, in 1979, deployed the first-ever on-board Racecam on Peter Williamson's car at the Bathurst 1000 in New South Wales. Though capturing an in-car perspective never seen before, the system weighed more than 70 lb. and offered only a locked-off shot. Over the next two years, Seven's Racecam would decrease in size and add full pan-tilt-zoom capability.
Larsson, Porter, and Curtis's big break came in fall 1980, when a CBS production executive on location Down Under to cover the Miss World Bodybuilding Championship stumbled on Seven's broadcast of the Hardie-Ferodo 500. Spotting the onboard camera system, he immediately saw it as a perfect tool for the Tiffany Network, which had presented the industry's first flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 a year earlier and was seeking new tools for live NASCAR coverage.
We were very lucky at CBS, says former CBS Sports director Bob Fishman. Racing coverage was never the same after that. When you think of Peter Larsson, you think of a brilliant innovator, an engineer who helped design a camera system that changed auto-racing coverage by putting the viewer in the driver's seat during a race - a place where viewers would like to be, and few other sports have achieved.
NASCAR Star Is Born: CBS Discovers Its On-Board Camera A year later, Larsson, Porter, and Curtis found themselves at the 1981 Daytona 500, deploying their on-board cameras inside the car of Richard Childress and Terry Labonte for CBS Sports' live coverage. The in-car camera became a sensation two years later, treating viewers to a driver's-seat perspective of Cale Yarborough's winning race at the 1983 Daytona 500.
Peter had the passion and vision to develop and implement a technology that took a sport from minor-league status to major-league status, says veteran Fox Sports NASCAR Director Artie Kempner. I don't believe NASCAR would have attained the same level of prominence in American sports without the in-car camera. It took the viewer into the driver's seat and created those wow moments that have been memorable for almost 40 years. And Peter's passion and vision were behind that from the beginning.
Humble Beginnings: The Launch and Expansion of BST After commuting from Australia to the States for NASCAR races at Daytona, Michigan, and Talladega from 1981-'83 (through a subcontract arrangement with Channel Seven), in fall 1983, the triad pooled their funds and moved permanently to the U.S. to launch their own company, Broadcast Sports Technologies (BST).
The fledgling BST operation was based in a five-bedroom house in Connecticut, with Larsson, Porter, and Curtis each claiming a bedroom and the other rooms ser
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
Peter Larsson Retires With an RF Legacy That Spans the Globe He helped put the viewer in the driver's seat and wherever the action is By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
