Yes, MSNBC will re-air Katie Couric’s “runaway bride” interview this Saturday according to the release.

I point this out not because it’s the sort of thing MSNBC should be doing but because this is precisely the kind of thing that MSNBC should not be doing. Re-airing NBC product in the “dead zone” that is MSNBC weekends is one of the reasons MSNBC has the reputation in some circles as an also ran in the cable news wars.

This is the second time this week that MSNBC was forced to eat NBC table scraps. The first was NBC and the Today Show hijacking Rita Cosby and her interview with Michael Jackson’s mother away from MSNBC. When MSNBC finally got the opportunity to run with the exclusive in full on Scarborough Country Wednesday after it had already aired on Today and all over MSNBC Live Monday and Tuesday, there really was no reason to tune in to Scarborough Country and they got creamed by CNN and FOX.

Until NBC starts actually throwing bones to MSNBC in the form of real exclusives or fresh content, MSNBC has no chance regardless of how they tweak their lineup and programming. There is that special Chris Jansing is doing this Sunday. But it has received little or no advertising so far this week as far as I can tell. They get the release out early in the week for a change, as opposed to the numerous times in the past when the release would pop up on Thursday or Friday with the show being on Sunday, but never followed through with advertising it on TV (though Friday is still young). How do they expect the audience to find the show given that Weekend evenings are usually canned and the viewers MSNBC does have know it’s canned? By telepathy?

CNN and FOX would never promote a show this poorly. This is too bad because there are a lot of talented people working hard in Secaucus…