Bloomberg reporting Ryman Hospitality exploring sale of Opry and WSM

[Loverofradio]

About 15 years ago, a key person involved with WSM, shared the Opry generated about $800,000 a year for the station. I don’t recall the total revenue for WSM but it was around $ 1 million per year, total. Even then I was surprised how low it was and it dawned on me the station and the Opry itself might have a limited shelf life. I also remember they just had the tower painted and it cost $24,000, best I remember. Again, that’s 15 years ago. I think it’s safe to assume the revenue totals are less and the painting cost is more. Sadly, there is likely less shelf life for the enterprise.

If so that’s sad and it shows how much they don’t know how to sell radio. Not that I guess it matters to them. You can seriously make more than that with WSM. I’ve always felt WSM never wanted to be “that” station that was overloaded with spot breaks. Theres serious money to be made off WSM, if they tried

 

[TheBigA]

Theres serious money to be made off WSM, if they tried

Once again, this is not being sold as a stand alone AM station. The sales package is integrated with the other platforms they own. They're making enough money to be able to hire live & local talent 24/7. Not a lot of stations doing that.

 

[luperm]

If so that’s sad and it shows how much they don’t know how to sell radio. Not that I guess it matters to them. You can seriously make more than that with WSM. I’ve always felt WSM never wanted to be “that” station that was overloaded with spot breaks. Theres serious money to be made off WSM, if they tried

Huh? If there was more interest from advertisers, there would be spots on WSM. The station’s heritage isn’t the asset you think it is from a business standpoint.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

If so that’s sad and it shows how much they don’t know how to sell radio. Not that I guess it matters to them. You can seriously make more than that with WSM. I’ve always felt WSM never wanted to be “that” station that was overloaded with spot breaks. Theres serious money to be made off WSM, if they tried

With all due respect, you're responding to heresay from "about 15 years ago." It's not evidence of anything regarding WSM's operation today.

 

[sjs1959]

I have to believe that the number of people streaming from the WSM app or iHeart’s app dwarfs the number listening over the air, especially with Bill Cody having left us.

 

[TheBigA]

I have to believe that the number of people streaming from the WSM app or iHeart’s app dwarfs the number listening over the air,

That's been true for over 10 years.

 

[Loverofradio]

With all due respect, you're responding to heresay from "about 15 years ago." It's not evidence of anything regarding WSM's operation today.

You’re right. I’m sure they’re making some decent money off digital for the stations itself. They have a lot of curated streams. I’ve long felt WSM needs to steal Titans rights to lead into Grand Ole Opry. But that’s just my opinion

 

[Loverofradio]

I have to believe that the number of people streaming from the WSM app or iHeart’s app dwarfs the number listening over the air, especially with Bill Cody having left us.

The fact that he passed does leave room for these kinds of rumors. I worked for a heritage classic country station in a market that had a similar set up to the opry, the Louisiana Hayride. The veteran morning host passed, and three years later, we flipped to sports. Not at all saying that Will or should happen here. I fully support WSM’s format and I’ve now been a sports tv host for 12 years

 

[TheBigA]

The fact that he passed does leave room for these kinds of rumors.

For the past few years, the Opry has been bringing in "guest announcers." Some of them have been from radio stations. Some have been syndicated hosts. Some have been celebrities. It's possible one of those guest announcers may end up as the new morning host at WSM.

Grand Ole Opry Adds More Guest Announcers.

The Grand Ole Opry keeps rolling out names of radio hosts who’ll serve as guest announcers on the show. The latest additions include Albright & O’Malley & Brenner’s Kenny Jay,

www.countryinsider.com

They're not sitting on their hands watching the grass grow around them.