Because the gravitational field acts between two masses, and the centre of the Earth is its centre of mass I think that's why ...
Another thing, it's called orbital decay. Orbital decay occurs when the satellite isn't travelling fast enough at the required velocity to maintain orbit.
EDIT: Oh hang on
Satellites in low earth orbit or geosynchronous orbit move with uniform circular motion.
This is motion in a circular path at a constant speed. Obviously, although the speed is constant, the velocity is not, since the direction of the motion is always changing. It can be shown that for an object executing uniform circular motion (UCM), the acceleration keeping the object in its circular path is given by:
ac = v2/r
where ac is called the centripetal ("centre-seeking") acceleration, v = velocity of the object and r = radius of the circular path. As the name implies, centripetal (circular) acceleration is directed towards the centre of the circle. Remember from preliminary course ?
Too much acceleration and a satellite can possibly leave orbit path into space, too little and it can crash to the ground. Must be an equilibirium in centripedal force.
Clearly, the centripetal force, Fc, acting on an object undergoing UCM is given by: Fc=mv2/r and r is from the centre of the Earth.
Centripedal force is directed towards the centre in very short.
Feel free to ask more questions, it benefits everyone.