INDIANAPOLIS | "Mitch TV" is scheduled to make its region debut this weekend.

The re-election campaign of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has struck a deal with Comcast to make new episodes of its reality-TV style series available through the cable provider's On Demand programming in Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties.

Daniels debuted "Mitch TV" during his initial run for office four years ago, and five episodes featuring footage from his first term aired this summer on downstate television. The On Demand arrangement allows the campaign-produced series to enter the expensive Chicago TV market that serves Northwest Indiana.

"It's kind of a creative solution," said Daniels campaign spokesman Cam Savage. "People can watch it at their leisure."

The first of six new episodes will be available via On Demand starting Sunday. The opener, dubbed "There's a lot of Math in Pool," features footage of Daniels' late July visit to the region, during which he delivered a trails grant in Munster and visited an after-school program in Valparaiso.

Daniels' unconventional media buy comes less than a week after his Democratic opponent, Jill Long Thompson, suspended her television ads and reduced her field staff. Long Thompson on Monday insisted her campaign is not in financial trouble, saying both moves were made for strategic purposes.

A poll released last week by an Indianapolis political newsletter showed Daniels with a commanding 18-point lead over his Democratic challenger. But Long Thompson said her internal polling shows her within striking distance.

"I believe I'm right where I need to be," she said.