Netflix’s Indian ambitions face hurdle of cheaper services

Netflix Inc., whose shares plunged after it reported the worst drop in US users since 2011, is looking for new subscriber growth in India, a rapidly expanding streaming market. Trouble is, so are a raft of ambitious local players with cut-rate programming packages.

Already wrestling with global giants such as Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc., Netflix now also contends with broadcasters and Bollywood powerhouses allied with billionaire-backed wireless carriers, who are luring users with free offers or as low as 40 cents a month. That tactic has put them directly in the India growth path of the world’s largest paid online streaming service.

The intense competition could derail Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings’s goal of 100 million customers in India — almost 25 times Netflix’s estimated subscriber base there this year.