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 claims 1925 (the founding of WSM Radio and the Opry) as its founding date.
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 Gaylord Broadcasting 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. The holding company for the acquisitions was renamed from WSM, Inc. to Opryland USA, Inc. and continued under existing management. 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.
Opryland USA started the Gaylord Syndicom division on July 15, 1984, to develop syndicated TV programs. While in 1985, Acuff-Rose Music, an established country music publisher, was acquired by its Opryland Music Group Gaylord opened in 1985 the General Jackson river and paddle-wheel showboat, as an attraction at the Opryland theme park. 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.
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.
Gaylord Entertainment
Gaylord Entertainment Company was formed on October 24, 1991, as the company went public. The new company consisted of Oklahoma Publishing Company's broadcasting and entertainment holdings. Twenty-two percent of the stock was sold to the public, while Gaylord retained 66% and voting control. Also during the public offering period, the company laid out expansion plans for the Opryland hotel and theme park plus a Ryman Auditorium renovation. A new corporate headquarters was constructed on the Opryland property in Nashville.
A controlling stake in Country Music Television was purchased in January 1991 with Group W Satellite Communications buying the remaining stock. CMT moved its headquarters to Opryland Drive, Nashville. The cable channel was expanded into Europe in 1992. CMT Euro was launched in October 1992. In July 1993, Gaylord reorganized, placing all its cable channels, CMT, CMT Europe, and TNN, in a division under a senior vice president, David Hall.
Gaylord purchased a 30% stake in the Bass Pro Shops retail chain in 1993 from Bass Pro Group. In April 1994, Gaylord Entertainment and the city of Nashville made an unsuccessful bid for the Minnesota Timberwolves professional basketball team to move to Nashville.
Gaylord Broadcasting in 1994 sued The WB network to get some of its stations out their affiliation with the network, in order to change their affiliations to CBS. The WB countersued for breach of contract and acting in bad faith. As a part of the settlement, Gaylord Broadcasting sold Houston's KHTV to WB partner Tribune Broadcasting.
In 1995, Gaylord Entertainment purchased Nashville radio station WWTN (99.7) out of bankruptcy, and made several capital improvements to the station. The company kept WWTN's existing news/talk/sports format, but integrated its operations with its two existing radio stations (WSM and WSM-FM) and moved its studios to the Opryland complex.
Gaylord Entertainment began moving into the niche of Christian-oriented businesses with the May 1996 assumption of management of Z Music Television, along with an option to buy 95% of the cable channel. Gaylord extended its portfolio of Christian-related businesses. Word Entertainment, a Christian music company, was purchased in January 1997 from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Word and artist/producer Steve Taylor launched in September 1997 Squint Entertainment joint venture label. In 1999, 51% of the Christian music website musicforce.com was acquired, while musicforce.com in turn purchased all of Lightsource.com, a provider to broadcast.com of Christian content. A new online division, GETdigitalmedia, soon followed.
Gaylord Entertainment sold for stock its two cable channels, except for CMT International and Z-Music management rights and stock options, to CBS-Westinghouse in February 1997. CMT International ceased the CMT Europe channel due to high losses from distribution and satellite costs on March 31, 1998. In Europe, it shifted to providing CMT as block programming to other channels. In 1997, Gaylord sold off KSTW to Cox Enterprises, which was traded to Viacom's Paramount Stations Group for KIRO-TV, and in turn Belo Corporation had bought out St. Louis' CBS television station KMOV.
Also, on December 31, 1997, the Opryland USA theme park was closed for redevelopment into a shopping and entertainment district called Opry Mills. With its The Mills Corp. partner, building began in October 1998 on the complex, which opened in May 2000. Gaylord would own a third of the district, while The Mills would hold a majority 2/3 share. Terry E. London was appointed in 1997 as CEO.
Gaylord Cable Networks purchased a 15% stake in the TV Argentina and Solo Tango pay TV channels in the Fall of 1999 when it added a programming block to TV Argentina, a music and lifestyle channel. In May 2000, Gaylord increased its stakes in the two channels to 50%. The company expanded to convert TV Argentina to "MusicCountry" and expand Solo Tango, a dance-focused channel, reaching beyond Argentina and its limited South American distribution. Gaylord Cable Networks launched the MusicCountry cable channel in Mexico and Argentina on July 1, 2000, and closed Z Music on June 30, 2000. In Mexico, MusicCountry was a two-hour programming block on the Video Rola music channel. The block on TV Argentina started with nine hours per day, three of which aired in prime time, with expectations to expand to 24 hours. MusicCountry would take a broader view of country, localizing it to include Americana, folk, rock, and roots music programming. On September 1, 2000, the MusicCountry brand became available in Europe. In the Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Asia-Pacific region areas, CMT channels would rebrand to MusicCountry by year's end. A 24-hour schedule was slated for the Australia and Pacific Rim channels. The MusicCountry Latin America channel in Argentina launched with its Latin America partner, Ashmore, as a 24-hour channel in late November 2000, a rebranding of TV Argentina.
In 1997, in partnership with the newly formed Nashville Predators (NHL) hockey team (which would begin play in 1998, and of which Gaylord Entertainment owned a 20% share), the company purchased the naming rights to Nashville's new downtown arena, which became known as the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The agreement − originally signed for 20 years at a cost of $2 million per year − was canceled in 2005, but the name remained on the arena until 2007. Gaylord also divested its ownership share of the franchise.
Gaylord started its Family Value Entertainment division with the April 1997 purchase of the Blanton Harrell Entertainment management firm. Z Music and Word Entertainment were transferred into the division. Division co-presidents appointed were Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell.
In July 1998, Gaylord Entertainment purchased Pandora Investment, a Luxembourg-based film acquisition and distribution company, and placed it in its Idea Entertainment division. Gaylord funded in March 1999 Indigo Productions.
Wildhorse Saloon, a country music dance club and restaurant, was opened in 1994 in downtown Nashville. A second location was opened at Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World in 1998 as a part of a plan to expand the Nashville club into a nationwide chain. However, the Disney location was closed in November 1999, having incurred a loss of $16 million. Gaylord's Dallas-Fort Worth TV station, KTVT, was sold to CBS in October 1999 for $485 million.