Netflix woos Indians to pay for content, faces fight from cheaper rivals

Netflix will probably almost triple subscribers in India this year to 4.1 million, within striking distance of Amazon Prime's 4.4 million.

Netflix Inc., whose shares took a massive hit after reporting the worst drop in U.S. 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 other 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