I do broadcast production for $JOB (as the other person put it) as well. While satellite transmission sounds a bit old, it is proven and widely understood in the industry, if you can get the signal 'on the bird', someone else can get it down. Meaning, the downlink facility at the broadcaster's operations center, other networks, etc.

[edit]Communication between aircraft is a mix of RF and microwave, likely.[/edit] With regards to the camera helo -> relay helo -> fixed wing -> truck workflow, it's likely based on the ability for the camera helos not being able to 'see' the fixed wing aircraft. For instance, since the tour goes into mountainous areas, the camera helos may go down into a valley or be occluded from the fixed wing air craft at various points in time. Using the relay helo allows the fixed wing to fly a less complex flight plan, reducing potential issues with its link to the trucks.

Finally, having all of this operated by professionals who have many years of experience is required for live production. You just can't tolerate any outages, so things like drones, etc, which require longer iteration cycles for updates in flight plan, etc become less of an option.