The Phantom Menace stayed in the public consciousness for almost 16 years, now. Hell, even the 13-years old AOTC is still being discussed and reviewed, despite it being the epitome of lackluster. That thing is literally "Meh: The Movie".The only reason this movie has a prayer of being anything more than one more action blockbuster and of staying in the public consciousness for more than two months is the nostalgia factor of Solo, Skywalker and WhatsHerHair.
You're wrong - it's only stayed in the consciousness of nerd circles, not public consciousness. The general public wouldn't be able to tell you a thing about TPM, nor has it even registered with them in over a decade. AOTC is still being reviewed by nerds and fanboys, not the public.
TNT still shows all of the movies so the general audience still watches the prequels, they just don't care about the "mistakes" in the movies that the fans have been complaining about for a decade.