LOS ANGELES — Seven months ahead of its planned launch, Quibi, the short-form video platform from the film executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, experienced some backstage drama on Wednesday with the departure of one of its top executives, Janice Min.
Ms. Min, the former co-president and chief creative officer of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, joined Quibi last September. She was hired by the Quibi chief executive and co-founder Meg Whitman, who was formerly the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard and eBay, and charged with running its news division.
Quibi confirmed that Ms. Min was leaving, saying in a statement, “We thank her for her leadership and wish her well as she embarks on her next chapter.” Ms. Min did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The departure was a surprise to the Hollywood community, which has watched Mr. Katzenberg and Ms. Whitman sign up big-name directors like Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh and Paul Feig, among many others, to create shows made especially for mobile devices, with episodes lasting no more than 10 minutes.
Mr. Katzenberg, the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and a co-founder of DreamWorks Animation, has predicted that the future of entertainment will take place on phone screens and he has persuaded executives at major media and entertainment companies to back his theory. Quibi means to set its programming apart from much of the viral content on YouTube through its generous budgets and high production values.
Along with Ms. Whitman, Mr. Katzenberg has raised an estimated $1 billion for the project from giants including the Walt Disney Company, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Strategic partners include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Liberty Global. Mr. Katzenberg also raised funds from the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group.
Ms. Min, who was widely credited with reviving The Hollywood Reporter when she joined the declining trade publication in 2010, was tasked with revving up Quibi’s “Daily Essentials” programming. Quibi plans to create quick-hit morning and evening news shows in partnership with NBC News, along with bits of sports, entertainment and weather sprinkled throughout.
Ms. Min will not be replaced, the company said on Wednesday. Her two deputies, Becky Brooks, a former executive at CBS Television, and Ryan Kadro, the former executive producer of “CBS This Morning,” will absorb her duties.
Ms. Min, who was the editor of Us Weekly before taking charge of The Hollywood Reporter, is leaving Quibi two weeks after Tim Connolly, Quibi’s head of partnerships and advertising, departed from the start-up. The news of Ms. Min’s departure was first reported by Brian Stelter of CNN. The planned launch date for the streaming service is April 6, 2020.