That “some talent show” has the most viewers of any summer season. He probably has better exposure on that than on his radio gig.
Exposure isn't what it's cracked up to be. Kim Kardashian is fantastic at getting exposure. You can't buy groceries without seeing her face stare down at you from some magazine cover. We all know who she is, we see her all the time. But do we care what she thinks? More importantly, is her opinion likely to change else's? If she had come out and said "I support Romney" would the 18-25 year old single white women have changed their votes? Lindsay Lohan actually did say that, and she has similar exposure, so did that make any difference at all? No way.
When people listened to Howard I would argue that he could in fact influence them. Remember when he said he was going to run for governor of NY and it actually made some noise for a short time? Remember when Christie Todd Whitman named a Garden State Expressway rest stop after him to get the publicity boost? He had influence then. Those days are gone.