iHeartMedia has announced the launch of Urban “Real 106.1” W291BV Solon/WAKS-HD2 Akron serving Cleveland.

Launching with 10,000 songs commercial-free, the new format gives a direct format competitor to Urban One’s “Z107.9” WENZ.

The launch coincides with the upgrade of W291BV to 200w/263m giving it full coverage of Cleveland proper. The translator had been testing and stunting for the past couple of weeks as Soft AC “The Breeze“.

WENZ currently ranks third in the Cleveland market with a 6.7 share. This is the first direct format competitor for that station.

iHeartMedia Cleveland announced today the debut of the new REAL 106.1, Cleveland’s Real Hip-Hop and R&B, effective immediately.

REAL 106.1 will broadcast the latest Hip-Hop and R&B music, including songs from artists such as J. Cole, DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, Big Sean, French Montana, The Weeknd, Migos, Drake, Cardi B, Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Scott and more. To commemorate the launch, the station will play 10,000 commercial-free songs in a row. The full program line-up for REAL 106.1 will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

“We are extremely excited to add REAL 106.1 to our diverse portfolio of stations in the Cleveland market,” said Keith Hotchkiss, President of iHeartMedia’s North Ohio Region. “REAL 106.1 will play the top songs from the top artists in the Urban format. As Clevelanders get to know REAL 106.1, we’re confident that it will become their number one choice for Hip-Hop and R&B in the market.”