>>929172
American (and moreso, British) humor is very dependent on language manipulation and context clues. This is because English, as well as many European languages, has plenty of abstract words to describe the eccentrics of life. This makes it hard to learn, but it's one reason why English is so universal nowadays, you can explain anything in it so long as you have the knowledge. Sarcasm, "lying", and onomatopoeia are what make the humor we consider "witty", because it plays with our expectations, but in a way you wouldn't never consider otherwise, so you appreciate it positively. Bad "witty" humor lives up to expectations, or cheaply subverts expectation in a way that doesn't make sense, contextually. Contextually, in this case, meaning body language, tone, or other physical actions.
Other countries, however, rely on less language dependent forms of humor because their language does not have the same support for abstract concepts. Japan, for example, would initially make rock songs in English because the bands believed their language didn't have the words capable for the emotions needed in rock. We Americans and brits generally don't appreciate slapstick as much, comparably, as even things like "The Three Stooges" had wordplay to back it up.
So yeah, you may be right. Because Americans consume less television, they very well may be a push towards less American humored programs in order to port those programs to other languages cleanly, at a loss of American ratings.