Yes -- a lack of consistency. That was not the fault
of NTSC, but of the broadcasters.

I have to wonder what the broadcasters were doing to achieve
that. Contriving to get the colour burst phase consistent amongst
cameras in a studio (so that the tint stayed the same for a show),
but inconsistent with the actual colour subcarrier, would take
some doing.

There is no subcarrier or burst signal in the cameras. They aren't needed at
that point, and are added during the encoding process.

Setting them up is another matter. The early episodes of "Barney Miller"
provide a good example of poor setup, with inconsistent color, and poor
convergence.