Typhoons, crisis and sale
KTGM and KEQI-LD's transmitting facilities and studios were heavily damaged by May 2023's Typhoon Mawar, and the stations were forced off the air.[21] On June 1 and September 2023, Lilly Broadcasting obtained the ABC and Fox affiliations for Guam respectively, keeping the networks' programming available on local cable providers.[22][23] Sorensen was able to return KTGM to the air intermittently, though insurance litigation and reduced advertising revenues put financial pressure on the company and it ceased operations again on October 30. The station was also evicted from its studios for failure to pay rent.
On October 11, 2023, KTGM's translator in Saipan, KPPI-LD, also went silent as result of damages caused by Typhoon Bolaven on its transmitter at Mount Tapochau and the power line.[24] Sorensen subsequently agreed to sell KPPI-LD to DB Media, LLC on December 13, 2023 for $200.000.[25] The buyer, who also acquired KZMI's licensee Holonet Corporation on that year,[26] also assumed the operations of the low-powered station under a Time brokerage agreement.[25] The transaction was completed on March 11, 2024.[27]
On February 18, 2025, Sorensen determined there was no possible way to return KTGM and KEQI-LD to operation and applied for cancellation of their licenses.[28][29] Lilly countered with an offer to buy the two licenses and reconstruct their transmitting facilities. This would be contingent on obtaining a waiver of Section 312(g) of the Communications Act of 1934, which requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cancel the license of any station that has been silent for one year. However, the commission has a precedent of granting waivers to stations which have gone silent due to natural disasters.[21]
On September 25, 2025, Sorensen filed to sell both stations to Lilly's Guam Broadcasting, LLC, pending FCC approval, for $100,000 in cash and the assumption of all attorney's fees and expenses incurred in connection with the transaction. The letter agreement was made on May 15 by the buyer and signed by seller on August 21.[30] After KTGM resumed operations on October 31, 2025,[31] the FCC approved the sale on January 6, 2026[30] and it was completed on February 27.[32]
