The Zone

Marcos A. Rodriguez was the first to control the license after having successfully obtained it directly from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). After his financing source defaulted, Rodriguez sold the license to Susquehanna Radio.

93.3 FM began broadcasting on October 31, 1996, as KNBR-FM "The Zone", with an adult alternative format.^[4][5] The call letters KNBR-FM were only short-term, as they were changed to KKZN to match the moniker on December 20, 1996.

Merge Radio

After a day-long stunt with episodes of The Bob Newhart Show and a loop of "Pop Muzik" by M, the station became KKMR "Merge Radio", with a modern AC format on August 31, 1999. The first song on "Merge" was "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" by Lenny Kravitz. Station management referred to Merge as "the nation's first new digital media station." The name "Merge" was meant to signify the merging of traditional radio with the internet.^[6][7]

The Bone

At midnight on January 3, 2002, after playing "Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders, the station began stunting with funeral bells and random audio soundbites. At 5 p.m. that day, the station became KDBN "The Bone", with a 1970s/1980s-based classic rock format (specifically hard rock and heavy metal from that era), launching with "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers.^[8] The station's slogan was "Classic Texas Rock That Rocks!" This produced an initial spike in ratings, though the station lost much of that audience as the years progressed. The station featured longtime KZPS DJs Sam "Bo" Roberts and "Long" Jim White ("Bo and Jim") in the mornings.^[9] The KDBN call letters had been used on 1480 AM in Dallas for a business radio format from September 21, 1989, to September 4, 1991. Cumulus Media subsequently took control of the station in May 2006 as part of its acquisition of Susquehanna, instituted cost-cutting measures, and completely restored a classic rock format after the station had experimented with more recent rock offerings.

FM 93-3

On April 24, 2009, KDBN began stunting with music from the Dave Matthews Band with limited commercial interruptions. Three days later, the station switched back to adult album alternative as "FM 93-3 - Quality Rock", with the first song being "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M. On-air staff included The Regular Guys, a morning show syndicated from Atlanta, Alexis (middays), and Scott Gaines (afternoons).^[10][11] Among former on-air staff were Gary Thompson (mornings), Pugs and Kelly (afternoons), Candy Stuart, Bo Roberts, Yvonne Monet, Jeff K, Bob Carter, Channing, Jennifer Reed, Kat Von Erick, Debbie Sexxton, Squeaky, Paladin, Logan, Gary Zee, Royce Dex, Barb Smith (traffic reporter), and Rich Phillips (sports reporter). However, this format was short-lived, with poor ratings.

The station was, for a short time, an affiliate of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network.^[12]

i93

On September 2, 2009, the station began stunting again, urging listeners to tune in September 4 at Noon.^[13] At that time, the station launched a top 40 format as "i93", and on September 7, a call sign change to KLIF-FM was made.^[14]

As a reference to the station's i branding used for newer Cumulus-launched top 40 stations, the station's new top 40 format launched with The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling". The station aimed for an older audience; rival KHKS skewed toward younger listeners. KLIF was the flagship station for Nights Live with Adam Bomb. After another format change at 93.3 FM, the show moved back to Atlanta's WWWQ-FM.

Hot 93-3

Logo as "Hot 93.3"; alternate logo during 90s/2000s hits run was the same, but colored in the original blue/green Dallas Mavericks team colors.

In September 2014, websites were registered showing a possible rebranding or format change to rhythmic Top 40/CHR, urban, classic hits, oldies, smooth jazz, or rhythmic oldies. The registrations followed the recent hiring of former KBFF/Portland program director Louie Cruz for the same position at KLIF-FM. This station had not been able to make up ground on KHKS as it continued to hover right below a 2 share in the Dallas/Fort Worth Nielsen ratings of August 2014.^[15] The change was confirmed on October 3 of that year, when 93.3 began running liners promoting that "Something New Arrives At 93.3" at 5 p.m. that day, and relaunched as "Hot 93.3". While the station still maintained its Top 40 format as before, KLIF-FM began leaning towards rhythmic CHR.^[15]

On November 14, 2014, at 5 p.m., KLIF-FM began playing classic hip hop songs around the clock (as part of a holiday season-only promotion), only to be upstaged an hour later by KSOC, which dropped its urban AC direction to go full-time with classic hip hop as "Boom 94.5". It is not known if this was done intentionally, or if KLIF-FM was trying to pull a pre-empted strike to bring the format first to the area before another station picked it up. The flip has also resulted in Mediabase changing KLIF's reporting status from Top 40/CHR to rhythmic.^[16]

On December 2, 2014, at 6 p.m., KLIF-FM shifted its format to urban contemporary, retaining the "Hot 93.3" branding, even though Mediabase continued to list the station as a rhythmic reporter, with the first song being "Latch" by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith.^[17] Competitors in the format included KKDA-FM and KBFB. In March 2015, KLIF adjusted its direction back to Rhythmic with the inclusion of pop/dance crossovers that it had dropped previously and was added to the Nielsen BDS Rhythmic reporting panel.^[17]

In September 2015, KLIF-FM gradually returned to more of a mainstream Top 40/CHR format, putting it in competition with KHKS once again, a status affirmed with Mediabase returning KLIF-FM to its pop panel in November.^[18] Nielsen BDS continued to have KLIF-FM report to the rhythmic panel until May 2016. It currently competes with KHKS and, for a time from October 2016 to November 2017, CBS Radio-owned Hot AC-leaning KVIL. Ironically, AM sister station KLIF, during its Top 40 era, was competing with KVIL in the late 1960s. KLIF-FM also, to a lesser extent, competes with KHKS's sister station KDMX.

As of September 2019, KLIF shifted back to a Rhythmic Top 40 direction as it began increasing the amount of R&B/Hip-Hop currents being played, thus putting it back in competition with KKDA and KBFB again, while continuing to go after KHKS.

KLIF-FM was the third station in the Metroplex to use the "Hot" branding; the first was KRBV (now KJKK) from 1999 to 2001, and the second was KESS-FM (now KDXX) in 2013.

1990s/2000s hits

On December 19, 2022, at midnight, after playing "Goodbyes" by Post Malone featuring Young Thug, KLIF-FM shifted to a 1990s/2000s hits format, though still branded as "Hot 93.3", with the Ariana Grande remix version of "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd being the first song played. The station focuses primarily on music from the 1990s through the 2010s, with a limited number of currents and recurrents remaining. The move takes KLIF-FM out of direct competition with KHKS and instead focuses their competition with similarly formatted KDMX, and came as the station had slipped under a 1-share in the Nielsen Audio ratings, carrying just a 0.8 in the October and November books, the last under the CHR format. The station moved on from morning host Mason and the syndicated Tino Cochino show. The Adam Bomb Show returns to the mornings, its first Morning show when the station started. Midday host Ali and program director/afternoon host Sid Kelly remained with the station through the shift.^[19]

WBAP simulcast

Despite the move, the format would continue to stay in the lower part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area Nielsen Audio market ratings, ending with an 0.8 share for December 2023. Rumors of a format change would intensify with the sudden unannounced dismissal of Sid Kelly, with his page on the station website being completely wiped on December 14 and the station running jockless in that timeslot afterwards. The rumors would be unintentionally verified the following day when WBAP meteorologist Brad Barton, through a comment in a post for the Facebook group "I Take Pictures of Radio & TV Stations", inadvertently leaked an announcement that the AM station would begin simulcasting on KLIF-FM on January 3, 2024. The move would bring WBAP’s programming back to FM as it previously simulcasted on 96.7 FM from 2010 to 2013, being dropped for a simulcast of KTCK following a botched sale and the subsequent shuttering of KTDK, with the station otherwise being heard in FM quality through an HD Radio simulcast on KPLX-HD2. The move would be officially confirmed by Cumulus on January 2, and took place, as previously mentioned by Barton, at 8:20 a.m. the following day, following a block of departure-themed songs to sign off the "Hot" format (ending with "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy featuring 112 and Faith Evans and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day), a sweeper redirecting "Hot" listeners to KPLX and KSCS, and a brief historical recap of WBAP's news coverage.^[20][21] KLIF will also change its call letters to WBAP-FM a week later.