i found what looks like a pretty decent module in WWW::TV

Maybe at one time WWW::TV was decent, but it looks like it hasn't had a passing test in over a year, since perl 5.10, on any platform. Refer to https://rt.cpan.org/Public/Bug/Display.html?id=44678.

I second the notion that you should attempt to contact the author. Since you understand what this module is trying to do, you could perhaps assist in nursing it back to health. Try to patch the module so that it's tests will start to pass again. If the author responds and has lost interest, request to become a co-maintainer.