Hot 93-3 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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