You got a heavy dose of United and Arsenal, and in the early 2000s you'd see a lot of Chelsea and Liverpool as well. So yeah, TV coverage along with the language drove the interest here. It was easy to turn on FOX Sports (or FOX Soccer back then, too) and see a United match on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
With the advances in internet streaming, though, other leagues gained a lot of popularity here as well, particularly La Liga and the Bundesliga.