Ryman Hospitality Properties
Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and media company named for one of its assets: the Ryman Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark in Nashville, Tennessee. The company's legal lineage can be traced back to its time as a subsidiary of Edward Gaylord's Oklahoma Publishing Company, however the backbone of the modern entity was formed with the company's acquisition of WSM, Inc. in 1983. This purchase resulted in the ownership of the Grand Ole Opry and associated businesses, including the company's flagship resort property, then known as Opryland Hotel. As such, Ryman Hospitality cites 1925 (the founding of WSM Radio and the Opry) as its origin year.
Not to be confused with Ryman.Formerly
Gaylord Broadcasting Company
Gaylord Entertainment Company
REIT
Entertainment
1925
US$747.7 million (2007)
US$43.2 million (2007)
US$111.9 million (2007)
US$2,336.9 million (2007)
US$941.5 million (2007)
- The Vanguard Group (largest)
- BlackRock
- GAMCO Investors (8.3%)[1]
Opry Entertainment Group
From its corporate spin-off from Oklahoma Publishing in 1991 until 2012, the organization was known as Gaylord Entertainment Company. Most of its media and entertainment ventures were closed or divested over time as the company was refocused into a hospitality-based business by the early-2000s, constructing and operating massive resort properties catering to the high-end corporate convention market. In 2012, Gaylord Entertainment sold the Gaylord Hotels brand, as well as operations of its existing resorts, to Marriott International and converted the company's corporate structure into a real estate investment trust, retaining ownership of the properties themselves, and taking the Ryman Hospitality name as a result of the transaction. The company continues to own and operate the Opry and its affiliated companies inside a majority-owned subsidiary called Opry Entertainment Group.
History[edit]
Gaylord Broadcasting[edit]
The Oklahoma Publishing Company, owned by the Gaylord and Dickinson families, in 1928 purchased a commercial radio station, WKY, which started the company's involvement in broadcasting. Cofounder Edward K. Gaylord led the prospering publishing company into television broadcasting with the beginning of WKY-TV on June 6, 1949, which became the company's focus in the next two decades when it reached the then-legally-permitted maximum of seven stations with the 1962 acquisition of KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Thus the company set up the Gaylord Broadcasting subsidiary for its broadcasting stations.[2] In 1956, it merged with the Tampa Television Company, owners and licensee of CBS Tampa television station WTVT.
Cofounder Gaylord led the media mini-conglomerate through to a prosperous 1970s, during which he died in 1974 at age 101, leaving leadership of the companies to his son, Edward L. Gaylord. In 1974, the company purchased another television station, KSTW in Seattle.[2] In 1977, it bought out New Orleans TV station and ABC affiliate WVUE from Columbia Pictures, which was about to exit the broadcasting industry at that time.[3][4]
Gaylord Broadcasting formed Gaylord Productions in 1979 to enter TV and film production, opening an office in Century City, Los Angeles and hiring Elmo Williams as executive vice president. In 1981, Gaylord Productions purchased Yongestreet Productions, packager of the long-running television series Hee Haw, from its creators Peppiatt and Aylesworth. With the purchase of Yongestreet, Williams became president of Gaylord Productions' movie division while Alan Courtney assumed the presidency of its TV division.[5] Gaylord continued to produce and distribute Hee Haw until it ended its run in 1997.
The company was aware of the Grand Ole Opry's business expansion in the 1970s and early 1980s, with Edward considering that company as a fit for Gaylord Broadcasting.[2] The Opry and its associated businesses (including Opryland USA, Opryland Hotel, The Nashville Network, Ryman Auditorium, WSM & WSM-FM) were caught in the middle of the hostile takeover of their owner, NLT Corporation, by American General Insurance, and were put up for sale by the new parent shortly after the takeover was complete. Gaylord Broadcasting agreed to buy the Opry properties in September 1983.[2][6] The holding company for the acquisitions was renamed from WSM, Inc. to Opryland USA, Inc. and continued under existing management.[2][6] These acquisitions form the base of the company that exists today.
Gaylord followed up the Opry acquisition with an attempt to purchase the Texas Rangers, to no avail.[2]
Opryland USA started the Gaylord Syndicom division on July 15, 1984, to develop syndicated TV programs.[6] While in 1985, Acuff-Rose Music, an established country music publisher, was acquired[7] by its Opryland Music Group[8] Gaylord opened in 1985 the General Jackson river and paddle-wheel showboat, as an attraction at the Opryland theme park.[2] In 1987, Gaylord Production Company had reached a co-development and co-production deal with Four Point Entertainment, to generate products for first-run syndication, home video and network.[9]
With Opryland efforts producing success, Gaylord had his organization focus on Opryland in the late 1980s, while TV operation increased profits during that time. Gaylord Broadcasting was able to sell television stations WTVT in Tampa and WVUE in New Orleans for $365 million in 1987 while getting a $100 million tax credit for selling to a minority-owned company with the condition that the proceeds would be rolled into a media-released purchase within two years. However, to meet the deadline, Gaylord overpaid for a California cable television company and, in doing so, incurred a heavy debt load.[2]
Facilities owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties and operated by Opry Entertainment include:[67]
Facilities owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties, but managed by Marriott International, include:[67][62]
Previously owned properties and ventures include:
