Cat Collins

Cat Collins is a radio programmer and air personality whose decade leading KQKS-FM (KS107.5) helped establish the station as one of Denver’s dominant contemporary-music outlets.

Early career

Collins began in radio as a part-time air personality in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1983. His pre-Denver career included stops in San Jose, California; Rochester, New York; and Boston, where he served as assistant program director and music director at WJMN.

KS107.5

KQKS named Collins program director in 1998. During his tenure, the station increased its emphasis on hip-hop and R&B while retaining a mass-appeal rhythmic Top 40 presentation. In the spring 2000 ratings, KS107.5 ranked first among listeners 12 and older—a first in Denver for a station of its format—and remained particularly strong among listeners ages 18–34.

Collins also helped build the station’s local identity. He launched the annual KS107.5 Summer Jam at Fiddler’s Green and gave DJ Chonz a commercial-radio opportunity and a live afternoon mix show. By 2008, Westword described KS107.5 as a perennial ratings powerhouse and credited Collins with helping transform the station from a chronic underperformer.

Move to San Francisco

Collins left KQKS in October 2008 after a ten-year Denver run to become program director of rhythmic Top 40 KYLD (Wild 94.9) in San Francisco, his hometown.

Sources

• Deane Media Solutions: Cat Collins career profile
• Westword: “Urban Renewal,” August 24, 2000
• Westword: Collins leaves KS107.5, September 30, 2008