public nyse rhp founded 1925 founder edward gaylord headquarters nashville tennessee united states key people colin reed ceo revenue us 747 723 000 2007 operating income us 43 182 000 2007 net income us 111 911 000 2007 total assets us 2 336 867 000 2007 total equity us 941 492 000 2007 subsidiaries grand ole opry website rymanhp.com ryman hospitality properties inc. nyse rhp is a hotel resort entertainment and media company named after national historic landmark the ryman auditorium built as a tabernacle by captain thomas g. ryman in 1892 and later was the home of the grand ole opry from 1943 74 . the hospitality group was founded by edward gaylord . prior to its public ownership it was previously a subsidiary of the oklahoma city based oklahoma publishing company which was formerly owned by the gaylord family for 71 years until 2011 . the opubco company was once the lontime publisher of the daily oklahoman newspaper . until 2012 the company was known as gaylord entertainment company and earlier as gaylord broadcasting company . the company has operated as a real estate investment trust since october 1 2012 . contents 1 history 2 conversion to real estate 3 properties 4 broadcast properties 4.1 radio 4.2 television 5 references 6 external links history edit corporate logo as gaylord entertainment company 2001 2012 gaylord entertainment came into existence after edward gaylord was persuaded by his wife thelma to purchase the opryland usa properties that had been put up for sale by american general insurance . the gaylords took the opryland businesses merged them with gaylord broadcasting their existing television station and syndicated program division and created opryland usa inc. opryland usa inc. became the gaylord entertainment company when the company went public on the new york stock exchange in the early 1990s . the company flourished as the leader in the country lifestyle business under the leadership of e.w. bud wendell until he retired in 1997 . the opryland lodging group was formed with the opening of the 600 room opryland hotel now named gaylord opryland resort and convention center in november 1977 . in addition to catering to guests from the opryland usa themepark and grand ole opry the hotel s first general manager jack vaughn sought to cater to conventions a service that nashville tourism had neglected until then . the hospitality group was a modest but highly successful division of the opryland usa properties of gaylord entertainment from the hotel s opening through the 1996 expansion of the hotel s almost 3 000 rooms and subsequent announcement of future opryland hotels in florida texas and washington d.c. . in 1997 in partnership with the nashville predators nhl hockey team of which gaylord entertainment owned a minority 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 80 million was canceled in 2005 but the name remained on the arena until 2007 . gaylord also divested its ownership share of the franchise . new management in the early 2000s believed that gaylord entertainment s future lie solely in the management of the hospitality arm of the company . with the exception of the grand ole opry ryman auditorium general jackson showboat wildhorse saloon and wsm radio in nashville all non hotel businesses were abandoned or sold . the hotels division was rebranded as gaylord hotels in 2000 with the company positioning it as a premium brand . the three previously announced additional hotels were built . three other hotels were planned for the areas of san diego phoenix and denver but were never built . two other hotel properties were announced as acquisitions ; however those were abandoned as well . ten years after stating that the company s future was in the hospitality and convention business the same management team reversed course stating the company could not succeed in managing its hotels . the company sold the gaylord hotels brand to marriott international in the spring of 2012 completing its transition from a media conglomerate that once owned cable networks theme parks television and radio stations restaurants giant retail chains newspapers sports teams internet portals record companies as well as film television and animation studios into a simple real estate holding company . as a result of the sale the company lost the rights to use the gaylord name resulting in the change to ryman hospitality properties inc. in the 1990s gaylord entertainment was tennessee s second largest private employer ; as of 2015 ryman hospitality now employs fewer than 100 full time workers . conversion to real estate edit in may 2012 marriott international agreed to purchase the gaylord hotels division and the rights to manage gaylord s four hotels the general jackson showboat the wildhorse saloon and gaylord springs golf links for 210 million in cash . the company changed its name from gaylord entertainment to ryman hospitality properties when the deal was finalized in october . 1 according to chairman and ceo colin reed ryman will continue to operate and manage the grand ole opry ryman auditorium and wsm radio for the time being stating that they are iconic assets . 2 the conversion cost more than 300 corporate employees their jobs with the company . the purchase came just as the poison pill put forth by the board of directors expired opening the company up for a hostile takeover . robert rowling the texas billionaire who owns trt holdings bought 14 percent of gaylord stock in early 2008 . 3 later that year gaylord rejected rowling s bid to increase trt s stake to 30 percent saying there would be no benefit to the company and also noting trt s potential conflict of interest since trt owns the omni hotel chain which competes with gaylord for conference and convention business . 4 in management s effort to see the marriott plan to succeed the company paid 185 million on august 7 2012 for almost half of the shares owned by billionaire robert rowling and launched an offering to help him dispose of his remaining 5.6 million shares . rowling had previously opposed the marriott purchase saying the company can go on a diet without having surgery . we would rather see gaylord maintain the status quo and implement the savings without permanently impairing the value of the gaylord properties by encumbering them with the onerous long term marriott agreement . omni would go on to open its first nashville hotel in september 2013 adjacent to the downtown music city center . properties edit facilities owned and operated by ryman hospitality properties include grand ole opry ryman auditorium wsm nashville radio station facilities owned by ryman hospitality properties but managed by marriott international include gaylord hotels gaylord opryland resort & convention center in nashville tennessee gaylord palms resort & convention center near orlando florida gaylord texan resort & convention center in grapevine texas dallas fort worth area . gaylord national resort & convention center at national harbor maryland gaylord springs golf links general jackson showboat inn at opryland wildhorse saloon previously owned properties and ventures include opryland usa theme park fiesta texas theme park minority interest wky radio oklahoma city resortquest international inc. bass pro shops outdoor world minority interest acuff rose music grand ole opry tours opryland river taxis opryland productions opryland theatricals corporate magic the nashville network cmt cmt europe nashville predators minority interest opry mills minority interest word entertainment gaylord films z music television christian music video channel the adventures of the galaxy rangers musicforce.com lightsource.com gaylord digital in 1999 gaylord entertainment purchased the naming rights to the major downtown arena in nashville home of the nashville predators . the agreement was terminated in 2005 but the gaylord entertainment center name remained on the building until march 16 2007 . the facility is now known as bridgestone arena . gaylord entertainment also produced the long running comedy variety series hee haw initially out of the studios of wtvf in nashville and distributed the program over their television stations and in syndication . broadcast properties edit ryman hospitaity s only present broadcast property as noted above is wsm 650 am in nashville a heritage country music station with a 50 000 watt clear channel signal . oklahoma publishing acquired wsm as part of its purchase of the grand ole opry and associated businesses in 1983 . 5 ryman while it was a subsidiary of oklahoma publishing owned several television and radio stations . the broadcasting subsidiary originated as the wky radiophone company named after its oklahoma city flagship stations . in 1956 it became the wky television system holding onto that moniker until 1975 when it took on the gaylord broadcasting company name . 6 below are charts of stations formerly owned by ryman s predecessor companies . stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license . note indicates a station built and or signed on by oklahoma publishing gaylord broadcasting . radio edit am stations fm stations city of license market station years owned current ownership albuquerque krke 610 now knml 1974 1980 cumulus media krke fm 94.1 now kzrr 1976 1980 iheartmedia oklahoma city wky 930 1928 2002 cumulus media wky fm 98.9 1947 1952 defunct went silent in 1952 frequency now used by kyis portland oregon kyte 970 now kufo 1977 1983 alpha broadcasting kyte fm kllb 101.1 now kxl fm 1977 1983 alpha broadcasting nashville wsm fm 95.5 1983 2003 cumulus media television edit city of license market station channel tv rf years owned current ownership status montgomery selma alabama wsfa 12 12 1955 1959 nbc affiliate owned by raycom media denver klz tv 7 7 1953 1954 abc affiliate kmgh tv owned by e. w. scripps company tampa st. petersburg wtvt 13 12 1956 1987 fox owned and operated o & o new orleans wvue 8 28 1977 1987 fox affiliate owned by louisiana media company operated through ssa by raycom media lorain cleveland wuab 43 28 1977 1989 mynetworktv affiliate owned by raycom media oklahoma city wky tv 4 27 1949 1976 nbc affiliate kfor tv owned by tribune broadcasting fort worth dallas ktvt 11 19 1971 1999 cbs owned and operated o & o houston khtv 39 38 1967 1995 the cw affiliate kiah owned by tribune broadcasting tacoma seattle kstw 11 11 1974 1997 the cw affiliate owned by cbs corporation milwaukee wvtv 18 18 1966 1996 the cw affiliate owned by sinclair broadcast group references edit marriott completes acquisition of gaylord hotels brand and hotel management company . prnewswire.com . october 1 2012 . retrieved october 3 2012 . de lombaerde geert september 25 2012 . reformed gaylord reit to take ryman name . nashville post . retrieved october 3 2012 . 1 robert rowling is the billionaire dallas doesn t know august 24 2008 accessed august 29 2010 2 gaylord rejects omni owner s proposal december 3 2008 accessed august 29 2010 opryland changes hands . broadcasting july 11 1983 pg . 24 by a new name . broadcasting july 7 1975 pg . 30 external links edit rymanhp.com v t e animated television series created for syndication television blocks bkn cookie jar kids network the disney afternoon the funtastic world of hanna barbera the marvel action hour marvel action universe anthology series the comic strip force five hanna barbera superstars 10 film series the marvel super heroes my little pony n friends super sunday syndication distributors associated artists productions claster television lorimar telepictures orbis communications cbs television distribution coca cola telecommunications disney abc domestic television harmony gold usa lexington broadcast services company the program exchange saban entertainment sandy frank entertainment screen gems sfm entertainment turner program services viacom international westinghouse broadcasting world events productions worldvision enterprises station owners gaylord entertainment company new world communications taft broadcasting related topics weekday cartoon sunday morning