The village consists of two former theological colleges, Archibald House & Melville House, which are Grade II listed Edwardian mansions in the arts and crafts style.

The colleges closed after they merged with the University of Birmingham in 2004 at roughly the same time as the BBC closed its Pebble Mill studios in Edgbaston. Most BBC production was then transferred to the Mailbox in the Westside area of central Birmingham, but these premises were not suitable for certain types of drama and so the BBC created a new drama village in Selly Oak.

Archibald House now contains state-of-the-art studios whereas Melville House is a closed set used for daytime filming. The BBC also leases three industrial units on the Stirchley Trading Estate, off Hazelwell Road, which contain sets and radio resources.

The Radio 4 Afternoon Play, Dalziel & Pascoe and Doctors are produced at the BBC Drama Village.

The station is managed by the charity Headline Media and most of its programmes are produced and presented by volunteers.

The station is primarily targeted at local Muslim communities; its content is mainly speech-based and generally falls into one of four categories: spiritual, entertainment, community information and discussion/debate. Programmes are mainly in English.

Unity FM is run by a small professional staff and a team of volunteers; it aims to promote community cohesion, encourage volunteering, and raise aspirations, particularly amongst women and young people.

Some specialist programmes are broadcast in community languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi.

The station, which has a potential audience of over 250,000, is based at KMS House on Bradford Street in the Bordesley area of central Birmingham.

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