Mercado Libre to Put Data From 131 Million Buyers to Work in Netflix Advertising Partnership
Key Facts
Mercado Libre plans to begin its advertising partnership with Netflix in early 2027, linking connected TV campaigns to shopping results on its online marketplace and payments through Mercado Pago. Netflix confirmed in its third-quarter 2026 shareholder letter that it had entered a new partnership with MercadoLibre in Latin America, as part of an expansion of programmatic buying through connected TV deals. Jesus Moreno Sosa, vice president of Mercado Ads, said the company would build advertising audiences based on search and purchase signals from 131 million buyers. The data will allow streaming viewers to be targeted based on their connection to e-commerce activity, Sosa said. The partnership places Netflix alongside Mercado Play in Mercado Ads’ regional connected TV offering.
Sosa said search and purchase signals from the buyer base would be used to build targeted advertising audiences on streaming services, connecting product interest with ad exposure. The partnership plan links connected TV campaigns to results on the marketplace and Mercado Pago, according to Mercado Libre. This gives advertisers a route combining access to streaming audiences with measurement of their connection to commerce and payments, within the scope of the announced partnership. The available disclosures did not provide a projected sales figure or a specific financial impact for the partnership. The move comes as Mercado Ads expands its presence beyond its platform, with its advertising network reaching more than 60,000 websites and apps. Its regional streaming portfolio includes Disney+, HBO Max, Roku and Mercado Play, according to a 2026 Mercado Ads presentation.
Netflix’s ad-supported audience figures offer an indication of the platform’s scale for the partnership to reach. The company said in May 2026 that its ad-supported plan had surpassed 250 million monthly active viewers worldwide and that more than 80% of its subscribers watched content weekly. In Latin America, monthly active users of the plan exceeded 35 million in Brazil and 28 million in Mexico, according to Netflix data published that month. The figures show the breadth of its advertising audience globally and its presence in two major markets in the region. Netflix also said its ad-supported plan would expand to 15 new countries in 2027, including Colombia and Peru. That expansion puts additional markets in the region on the path of growth for the company’s advertising business.
Mercado Libre is seeking to expand an advertising business that had grown strongly before details of the partnership were announced. The company said net advertising revenue, excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, rose 62% year over year in the second quarter of 2026. It added that it had surpassed 10% of Latin America’s digital advertising market for the first time in the same quarter. Mercado Libre also said 25% of Mercado Ads campaigns were aimed at brand building, according to a statement published on October 28. The Netflix partnership expands the reach of these campaigns to connected TV, linking them with the group’s commerce and payment tools. This reflects a strategy that combines brand-building advertising with access to commerce results across the Mercado Ads ecosystem.
The partnership was announced at a Mercado Ads event on September 23, 2026; the October 28 material covered the company’s podcast, which discussed the collaboration. Netflix later confirmed the partnership in its third-quarter shareholder letter, linking it to expanded access to programmatic connected TV deals. In its third-quarter results, Netflix reported revenue of $12.874 billion, up 11.8% year over year. The company forecast revenue of $13.442 billion for the fourth quarter, with expected year-over-year growth of 11.5%. In trading on October 27, Netflix shares closed at $62.52, according to EL7 data. The partnership is scheduled to begin in early 2027, alongside Netflix’s plan to expand its ad-supported plan to new markets during the same year.