KEY POINTS:
Mucked-up commentary, some dumb questions and technical glitches have left many viewers fuming - but the Minister of Sport has given TVNZ's Olympic coverage a gold medal.
Clayton Cosgrove described TVNZ's coverage as "world class".
"I've got to say having cruised around the websites around here that TVNZ's website is probably the best I've come across by far," said Mr Cosgrove from Beijing.
"I know there was a lot of criticism about some of the commentaries and a few mistakes, but I must say our broadcasters here are held in high esteem."
That is a different view from many who were watching at home. There was the slip-up this week which meant only Freeview viewers could watch boardsailor Tom Ashley win the country's third gold medal.
TVNZ did not have the final result when commentator Peter Williams spoke to broadcaster Wendy Petrie live from Beijing while rival TV3 had already announced the win and scored an interview with Ashley's mum.
There has also been criticism of some TVNZ reporters being overawed by the occasion and asking silly questions. When sports reporter Toni Street, asked the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, if he had anything to say to New Zealand, he replied:"Hellooo".
TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said when the games conclude the broadcaster would have beamed more than 800 of a possible 3500 hours of "drawcard" events into New Zealand homes. And while its crew worked "extremely hard" to meet its ongoing broadcast deadlines for TV1, its two online channels and TVNZ 7, occasional mishaps had to be expected.
"It is a big technical ask but we feel very pleased the way things have gone despite the fact that we've had one or two glitches.
"It happens to everyone, even the BBC can mess it up from time to time."
She said TVNZ had sent a staff of about 100 to Beijing, which by Olympic standards was "extremely modest".
American broadcaster NBC took 3000 staff, the BBC about 350 and Australia's Channel 7 more than 300 people. But even an increase in manpower was no guarantee things would always go right, said Ms Richards, who said all of the broadcasters above had come in for "some slack" in their countries.
