Last month an undercover security guard had to intervene when a reporter covering a story at a North Shore vaccine centre was hounded by former TV presenter Liz Gunn. Gunn chased her down the road shouting unsubstantiated vaccine claims at her.
Media representatives from various outlets have also been threatened and abused in the past two weeks while covering the anti-mandate protest at Parliament.
A TVNZ spokeswoman said security was mostly needed at live broadcasts, large-scale events or situations that might become volatile given the story matter.
A full assessment was undertaken about what safety measures would be required in advance of any external filming or reporting, she said.
The broadcaster contracted a number of security firms around the country to provide this service and it was up to them to make sure each situation had adequate resourcing.
Security guards have been used by TVNZ since it overhauled its health and safety procedures in 2015.
"As you will have seen over the last year (and the last week in particular), threats to media representatives have become stories in themselves. Regardless of whether external security is utilised, we plan for all external deployments."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, speaking previously about the activity at the current protest in Wellington, said both politicians and the media had been threatened and abused.
"Media, when they've stepped onto the forecourt, have been abused and chased and called liars," she told RNZ.
"So some of the rhetoric and noise coming from the protest has been pretty poor."
